Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-20

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 6.0)

Whether children should be allowed to make decisions for themselves or not has been the topic of debate for the past few decades. Some people believe that letting children decide for themselves give them a sense of freedom and individuality. However, many guardians also believe that children are not wise enough to make right choices. Hence, the crucial decisions about them should always be taken by their parents or some elders. This essay will critically analyse both points of view with relevant examples and justifications.

All human beings have choices and opinions in their lives regardless of age. Although individuals in their early years may not be as sensible and knowledgeable as their elders, still they like others to listen to them and make most of their decisions themselves. There are many children who do not like the enforcement of rules and commands when it comes to their life.

With the advent of technology, children are more aware about latest trends and have their own preferences, likes and dislikes specially when it comes to clothing, food and entertainment. It has also been observed by psychologists that children who wear their favourite dresses tend to be more cheerful and satisfied than the children who are forced by their parents to wear something other than their will.

In my opinion, every individual should be completety allowed to make decisions about themselves independently without any pressure. It will not only make them more confident in themselves but they will also learn to analyse situations vigilantly and make impactful decisions. They will experience the bad consequences of their decision and in this way they will learn a lot.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on children making everyday decisions and providing a personal opinion. The position is clear throughout the essay, particularly in the final paragraph where the writer asserts that children should be completely allowed to make independent decisions. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies on general assertions rather than deep elaboration. For instance, the discussion on technology and clothing is introduced but not fully connected to the broader societal implications mentioned in the prompt. While the arguments are relevant, they tend to over-generalise and lack concrete examples or specific justifications to reach the higher bands. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fulfilling the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas from the introduction through the body paragraphs to the conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the topic, such as the introduction of the debate, the children's perspective, the influence of technology, and the writer's opinion. Cohesive devices are used to link sentences and paragraphs, as seen with transitions like 'However', 'Hence', and 'Although'. However, some referencing is slightly mechanical, and the logical flow between paragraphs could be smoother. For instance, the transition from the general discussion in paragraph two to the specific technological context in paragraph three feels a bit disjointed. Nevertheless, the organisation is clear and easy to follow, earning a Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items and topic-related terminology such as 'individuality', 'enforcement', 'psychologists', and 'vigilantly'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing. For example, writing 'give them a sense' instead of 'gives them a sense' (subject-verb agreement), 'make right choices' missing the article 'the', and 'completety allowed' containing a spelling error. The phrase 'wear something other than their will' is awkward and non-standard. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly, these lexical slips and occasional awkward phrasings prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it solidly at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout the essay, incorporating relative clauses and subordinate structures successfully, such as 'Whether children should be allowed to make decisions... has been the topic' and 'children who wear their favourite dresses tend to be more cheerful'. There are, however, several grammatical errors and punctuation slips. For instance, subject-verb agreement is flawed in 'letting children decide for themselves give them' (should be 'gives'). Additionally, 'children are more aware about latest trends' should use 'of' or 'concerning' rather than 'about', and 'specially' should be 'especially'. Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, and the sentence structures demonstrate a reasonable degree of control, warranting a Band 6.0.

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