Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-25

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)

Despite progressing rapidly in the field of psychology of children, the debate on the topic of giving decision power to children still exists. Some people argue that allowing children to make their own decisions on daily affairs including food, clothes and entertainment is likely to produce selfish individuals within a society. However, other people believe that it is pivotal for children to make their choices about matters that affect them. From my perspective, I partly agree with the stance that autonomy will create selfish individuals. However, providing decision power to children can assist in developing mature individuals in a society that will have a better understanding of the circumstances.

On one hand, allowing children to make their own choices on everyday matters can increase their creativity and logical reasoning skills. Young people can enhance their productivity and reduce dependence on others by choosing the things they want in their daily life. A clear illustration of this is provided by young entrepreneurs, who had autonomy in their daily life activities in the past and have become successful by implementing similar rules in the business industry,

On another hand, autonomy in everyday matters can increase the proportion of individuals who only think about their own wishes in a society. People can be more concerned about solving issues of their own rather than others, which can impact a society adversely. For instance, if someone prefers himself over societal problems, it will result in a lack of cooperation among individuals of a specific society. Therefore, some people do not support this stance of giving autonomy to children in their routine tasks.

Although, providing the right to make their own decision to children can place additonal pressure on the socio-economic growth of a society, I strongly believe that giving children freedom of making choices of their own daily matters can foster of productive individuals, who contribute to rapid growth of a society.

To conclude, people are divided on the opinion of children's autonomy in their everyday matters, but from my point of view, they should get decision power because it can make them more mature and creative. Furthermore, they can assist in rapid success of a society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on children's autonomy and presenting a clear personal opinion throughout the essay. In the introduction, the writer outlines both perspectives and states their stance. Body paragraph one explores the advantages of decision-making, such as enhanced creativity and logical reasoning, while body paragraph two examines the counter-argument regarding selfishness and societal impact. The conclusion clearly restates the writer's opinion. Ideas are generally well-developed and supported with relevant explanations, although the example concerning young entrepreneurs is slightly generalized and could have been elaborated further. Overall, the task is fully addressed and meets the criteria for Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates clear logical organisation and a recognizable overall progression of ideas from introduction to conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each main body paragraph focusing on a distinct view. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'On one hand', 'On another hand', and 'To conclude', although some transitions feel slightly formulaic. Referencing is generally clear, though there are minor instances where cohesive links could be smoother. Overall, the essay flows well and easily meets the requirements for a Band 7 in Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic task, enabling flexibility and precision. Terms such as 'psychology of children', 'pivotal', 'autonomy', and 'socio-economic growth' demonstrate an awareness of less common lexical items. However, there are some minor word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'decision power' instead of 'decision-making power' or 'autonomy', and 'freedom of making choices' instead of 'freedom to make choices'. Despite these occasional errors, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the meaning clearly, supporting a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6 performance, rounded to 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures throughout the essay, employing subordinating clauses effectively (e.g., 'Although, providing the right to make their own decision to children can place additonal pressure...'). There are, however, several grammatical errors and punctuation issues. For example, there is a typo in 'additonal', a missing plural or article in 'right to make their own decision', and an unnecessary comma after 'Although'. Additionally, 'foster of productive individuals' contains an error in preposition usage. These errors do not impede communication, allowing the essay to fit comfortably within the Band 6 descriptor.

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