Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-17

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that allowing children to make their own choices on everyday matters (such as food, clothes and entertainment) is likely to result in a society of individuals who only think about their own wishes. Other people believe that it is important for children to make decisions about matters that affect them.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The debate whether Some people believe that allowing children to make their own choices on everyday matters is likely to result in a society of individuals who only think about their own wishes., as opposed to Other people believe that it is important for children to make decisions about matters that affect them., has become a matter of discussion for society. In my opinion, children should allowed to make some decision, but should provide guidance. In this essay, I shall examine both points of view and present supporting arguments for my selection.

To commence with, there are numerous predominant factors which suggest that if children making there own choice can be self-centred is worst option for the society. Firstly, giving complete freedom to children may make them focus mainly on their own wishes. They may become used to getting what they want without considering other people. For example, A child who always choose expensive entertainment may not understand the important of saving money. Secondly, children may become less willing to accept rules and ragulation of parents. They believe that their own decision is always correct.

On the other hand, there are some undeniable aspect of Children should make decisions about their own lives. The moste common one is that Allowing children to make decisions can teach them to become responsible. They learn that their choices have consequences. If children choose their own clothes or food, they learn to understand their personal needs and preferences.

In conclusion, this is a topic which raises a plethora of questions in contemporary life. From the given examples, it is clear that both sides have strong supporting arguments. Nevertheless, I am still inclined to say that In my opinion, children should be allowed to make some everyday decisions, but parents should provide reasonable guidance. This gives children independence while preventing them from making unsuitable choices. Parents can allow a child to choose their clothes or hobbies, while adults decide matters related to health, safety and education.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on whether children should make everyday choices and providing a clear personal position throughout. In the introduction and conclusion, the writer outlines their stance, suggesting children should make choices with guidance. Ideas are generally relevant, but some main points are slightly under-developed or repetitive. For instance, the discussion on self-centredness relies on a single example regarding expensive entertainment. Furthermore, copying the prompt verbatim into the introductory sentence restricts the overall development of ideas. However, the task is properly completed and a clear argument is sustained. This places the response comfortably at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into four standard paragraphs, ensuring a recognizable overall structure. Logical progression is attempted, signalled by standard transitional markers such as 'To commence with', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. The referencing and linking between sentences are occasionally disrupted by grammatical errors, and some cohesive devices are used clumsily or redundantly. Paragraphing is clear, but internal transitions within paragraphs could be smoother. These issues align the text with the Band 6 descriptor, where organisation is coherent overall but cohesion shows mechanical tendencies.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'contemporary life', 'plethora of questions', 'personal needs and preferences', and 'reasonable guidance'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout, such as 'ragulation' instead of 'regulation', 'The moste common one' instead of 'The most common one', and awkward phrasing like 'if children making there own choice can be self-centred is worst option'. Less common lexical items are attempted, but inaccuracies in word formation and collocation are frequent. These lexical lapses mean the response fits the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range, with Band 6.0 best representing the overall adequacy of the vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over sentence architecture with relative clauses and conditional structures. Nevertheless, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('children should allowed to make some decision'), prepositional and article errors ('is worst option for the society'), and tense inconsistencies ('if children making there own choice'). Punctuation is also problematic in places, notably with run-on phrasing and misplaced capitalization. While these errors do not completely obscure the meaning, their high frequency prevents the writing from achieving a Band 6.5. Therefore, a Band 5.5 is appropriate for this criterion.

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