Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-19

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)

There has been an ongoing debate among people about children's individual choices. Where some believe that if children are allowed to make choices regarding everyday matters such as what to eat, what to wear and what to watch, then there are high chances of them becoming individuals who think only about their own wishes, others believe that it is highly important for children to make their own choices, take decisions themselves and be vocal about matters that affect them.

People who are in support of the first view might have experienced something that made them have such an opinion. One common view about children is that, whatever they do in childhood is likely to become their habit. For instance, if a child has a habit of showing dominance or seeking attention, there are high chances of them doing it in adulthood.

Moreover, the people who are in favor of the second view might have such an opinion because children are very easily influenced. They are not given a chance to make choices about their life according to their likes and dislikes. This makes so many other problems for instance, if a child is consistently discouraged from having his opinion then he might not be able to talk about things that would genuinely require attention like if a child is being molested by someone he might not be able to differentiate it as either good or bad and may may be he might not be able tell his parents about it.

Overall, both views have their own significance. However, I am in favour of the second view that says children should be vocal about their choices because in the contemporary era where people are actively using different social media platforms to raise their voice and have opinions people who doesnot not speak for themselves are not regarded much.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—the concern regarding self-centered adults and the importance of autonomy for children—and clearly presents their own opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas lacks depth in places. For instance, the second body paragraph relies on a vague generalization about childhood habits without providing a concrete example. In the third paragraph, the argument regarding children being influenced transitions abruptly into a very extreme and sensitive example about child safety. While this touches on the importance of children being able to speak out, the link between everyday choices such as food and clothes and extreme safety issues is not fully or smoothly articulated. Consequently, the response achieves a Band 6.0 as it addresses all parts of the task, but some ideas remain under-developed or less than fully clear.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into an introduction, body paragraphs representing different views, and a concluding stance. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct ideas, though the second and third body paragraphs could have been organized more cohesively. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover' and 'Overall', but referencing and linking within sentences occasionally feel mechanical or strained, particularly in the longer, run-on sentences in the third paragraph. Furthermore, the progression of ideas stumbles slightly when moving from everyday choices to extreme scenarios without transitional buffering. Therefore, the coherence and cohesion correspond to a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'ongoing debate', 'individual choices', 'dominance', and 'contemporary era'. However, there are notable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, the student writes 'This makes so many other problems' instead of 'causes many other problems', and uses 'may may be he might not be able tell' which exhibits repetition and lexical awkwardness. Additionally, phrases like 'people who doesnot not speak for themselves' contain spelling and formulation errors. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general message, these errors and the lack of sophisticated uncommon lexical items place this criterion at a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'if a child has a habit of showing dominance...'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several run-on sentences and punctuation errors, notably in the third paragraph where a very long sentence lacks necessary commas or full stops ('like if a child is being molested by someone he might not be able to differentiate it as either good or bad and may may be he might not be able tell his parents about it'). Furthermore, subject-verb agreement issues appear, such as 'people who doesnot not speak'. Because errors occur frequently in complex constructions and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.

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