Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-18

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 6.5)

In recent years, giving children liberty to make their own choices on everyday matters has become increasingly important. Some people believe that giving children freedom produces a sense of selfishness among children, while other argues that it is important for children to become independant. This essay will discuss both views before explaining why I believe children should be encouraged to make everyday decisions.

On the one hand, there is quite a few abvious reasons why people discourage the idea of giving kids a free hand as it makes them selfish. By this I mean, when a child knows that he can do everything he wants as everybody would support him, he start disrespecting other people advices and tend to believe he is always right. This sort of mentality can negatively influence them and for the most part, they even do not know what is beneficial or harmful for them, resultantly, they would be badly affected by their own decisions. For instance, a child whose all wishes are fulfilled, when they are prevented to make bad decisions their egos hurt a lot and consequently they become rebellious.

On the other hand, granting children freedom in their everyday matters can make them independant and socialize. They can get to know about their importance while selecting clothes, buying products of their own choice. This creates a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in them. By this, not only do their confidence level boost but also broadens their horizons. By gaining experience themselves, they can better understand the situations.

In my opinion, although independance in decisions can make child rebel and impatient, I believe giving them the liberty to choose and decide things helps to become more confident. I believe allowing children to become independant with proper parental supervision is the best approach.

All things considered, the freedom of choice makes children independant and egoistic, while the benefits of the combination of the liberty with parental control outweigh its disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on allowing children to make everyday choices and providing a clear personal opinion. The writer considers both the potential development of selfishness and the cultivation of independence. Ideas are extended and supported, such as when the student explains how a lack of boundaries can lead to egoism or how making choices can boost confidence. However, some arguments tend to over-generalise or lack precise development, particularly in the first body paragraph where the connection between everyday choices and becoming rebellious is slightly repetitive. Nevertheless, a clear position is maintained throughout the essay. This performance aligns well with the requirements for Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay presents a clear overall progression and logical organisation. Each paragraph has a distinct focus: an introduction, a view against children making choices, a view supporting independence, the writer's personal opinion, and a brief concluding restatement. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In my opinion', which help guide the reader through the text. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and some sentences lack smooth transitions, making the cohesion feel slightly mechanical at times. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Overall, the structure is coherent and meets the criteria for a Band 6.5 to 7.0 range, supported by clear paragraph breaks.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'liberty', 'accomplishment', 'rebellious', and 'proper parental supervision'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'independant' (independent), 'abvious' (obvious), 'advices' (advice), and 'egoistic'. Additionally, phrasing like 'a free hand' and 'everyday matters' could be integrated with greater precision. While these lexical errors do not impede overall communication, they prevent the score from reaching the higher bands where greater control and precision over less common vocabulary are expected.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and relative clauses such as 'when a child knows that he can do everything he wants...' and 'a child whose all wishes are fulfilled...'. There are, however, several grammatical errors and awkward constructions, such as 'there is quite a few abvious reasons' (subject-verb agreement), 'other argues' (plural/singular mismatch), and 'they even do not know'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while complex sentences are attempted, they are frequently flawed. The errors occasionally require the reader to re-read slightly, though they do not completely obscure the meaning, placing this performance firmly in the Band 6 category.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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