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 tends 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 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on whether children should make everyday choices and providing a clear personal opinion. The introduction outlines the essay structure well. On the one hand, the student explains how a lack of boundaries can foster selfishness and a disregard for advice. On the other hand, granting freedom encourages independence and social skills. The conclusion clearly states the author's stance that parental guidance combined with autonomy is beneficial. Ideas are generally well-extended, though some supporting points in the second paragraph become slightly repetitive regarding the child's ego and rebellion. Overall, the prompt is fully addressed with relevant, coherent arguments throughout, aligning well with the Band 7 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organised into a clear four-paragraph structure that follows a standard discursive format. Each paragraph has a clear central topic, starting with a well-signposted introduction, followed by distinct body paragraphs introduced by standard cohesive markers such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand'. Progression of ideas is generally clear throughout the response. However, referencing and cohesive devices are at times mechanical or slightly repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'By this I mean' and 'By this'. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but overall the management of cohesion keeps the response firmly at a Band 6.5 to 7 level. Band 7 is awarded as the logical flow and progression are maintained.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common lexical items such as 'rebellious', 'accomplishment', and 'broadens their horizons'. However, there are several spelling and word-choice errors that detract from precision, most notably the misspelling of 'abvious' instead of obvious, 'independant' instead of independent, and 'advices' used as a countable noun ('other people advices'). Furthermore, phrasing like 'children whose all wishes are fulfilled' lacks natural collocation. While communication is not impeded and the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey complex ideas, these recurring inaccuracies limit the score to a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over conditional and subordinate clauses, such as 'when a child knows that he can do everything he wants... he start disrespecting'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'other argues', 'he start', 'child rebel') and tense consistency. Punctuation and sentence structures occasionally falter, leading to run-on constructions like 'when they are prevented to make bad decisions their egos hurt a lot and consequently they become rebellious.' These errors occur regularly across the text, though they rarely impede overall communication, placing the response solidly in the Band 6 category.

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