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)

Some people debate about allowing children to take their own decisions can make them selfish while others support the decision making ability of children regarding their own matters.

Individuals believing having own choices on trivial matters can make children selfish is not completely wrong. When a person only focuses on their opinions they often tend to neglect the inception of others, this might hurt the sentiments of the latter individual. The perception of former individual being self- centered might impact his circle of influence. For instance, a child who is not use to sharing his stuff might never learn to share even when the other person encountered by him is really needy. The child might become self- reliant while putting his choices forward but when he grows up he might expect others to obey his opinions or even become too bossy. this behaviour can negatively impact his existence.

Contrary to this, children allowed to take their decisions from a young age will observe the results of their opinions, they will be free to choose what outcome they will choose, for example a child allowed to learn multiple hobbies can experiment and choose himself which one he wants to pursue in future. This ability to choose from the outcomes of their choices will help them develop an individuality and shape their character over the pasage of time. While growing up they will have enough time to polish their decision making abilities and eventually become individuals with more efficient and precise decision taking abilities eliminating any dilemma.

In conclusion, allowing children to take their own decisions is a better option as this allows them to build an opinion and gives them their voice which will definitely help them in their survival alongside help them navigate life in a more adequate manner.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—that allowing children freedom makes them selfish, and that it helps them develop decision-making skills—while also giving a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant and supported, such as the example of a child learning multiple hobbies. However, some arguments lack full extension and tend to over-generalise, such as the claim that childhood autonomy invariably leads to expecting others to obey them or becoming bossy. Overall, the task is well-addressed, fitting comfortably into Band 6.5 to 7.0 territory, best represented by a solid Band 6.5 due to the slight under-development of the counter-argument's real-world implications.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs discussing opposing views, and a concluding paragraph. Cohesive devices are used to signal shifts, such as 'Contrary to this' and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, for instance, 'the latter individual' or 'the former individual', which makes the sentence structures feel somewhat mechanical and heavy. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, but paragraph two contains multiple distinct ideas crammed together regarding selfishness and self-reliance, which disrupts the smooth progression of thought. Cohesion overall is adequate and coherent, earning a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'sentiment', 'inception', 'individuality', and 'dilemma'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing throughout the text. For instance, 'take their own decisions' should ideally be 'make their own decisions', 'not use to' should be 'not used to', and 'encounter by him' is unnatural. Furthermore, 'existence' is misused in the context of personal well-being. These lexical errors indicate a Band 6.0 level, as vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, but inappropriate word choices and collocations restrict the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues that recur throughout the text. Examples include missing capitalization at the start of a sentence ('this behaviour'), incorrect prepositions ('on everyday matters' is fine, but 'choices on trivial matters' lacks a preposition), and awkward participle structures ('allowing children to take their decisions from a young age will...'). While these errors do not severely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the essay from reaching a Band 7.0. A Band 6.0 is appropriate as control over simple sentences is good, but complex structures contain frequent errors.

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

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