Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-29

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)

With the rapid advancement of the modern world the priorities and preferences of people have undergone significant changes. Due to this Some people believe that giving children freedom to choose their food, clothes and entertainment may make them more self-centred. However, others argue that children should be allowed to make decisions about matters that affect them. The following paragraphs will analyze both sides of the argument and state my opinion.

To commence with one side of the discussion a section of society thinks allow children to make decison themselves.They hold this opinion because this can make independent and resposibilty. When children were allowed to decide about their food ,clothes and entertainment this would help them to about the onsequrences and the problem solving skills.Moreover they learn time management and become responsible to maintain thier commitment. So if parents made their decision they might get fewer chance to develope these skills.

conversely, a part of the population beleives that, this could potentially develop a selfish behaviour.Children may naturally prioritise their immediate desires rather than considering the needs of other people.They may neglect responsibilities such as studying or helping with household tasks. Therefore, parents need to establish certain limits and teach children that their choices can affect other members of the family and society.

According to my perspecive, I beleive that children should be involved in decisions that directly affect them, but this freedom should be appropriate to their age and maturity. Parents can provide several suitable options rather than allowing unlimited choice

To conclude that a balanced approach, in which children are given age-appropriate choices within clear boundaries, is therefore an effective way to prepare them for responsiblility.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—that independent decision-making leads to self-centredness versus the importance of children making choices—and clearly presents the writer's own opinion. The position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the ideas in the body paragraphs are somewhat under-developed and lack extension with concrete examples or fully elaborated explanations. For instance, the discussion on responsibility and time management in the second paragraph remains quite general. This places the task achievement firmly at a Band 6 level, where all parts are addressed with relevant ideas, but some development lacks depth.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, body paragraphs discussing each view, a personal opinion, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different arguments. However, cohesion is often faulty or mechanical. There are numerous missing prepositions, abrupt transitions, and awkward phrasing that disrupt the natural flow, such as 'To commence with one side of the discussion a section of society thinks allow children to make decison themselves.' Referencing is also occasionally unclear, and cohesive devices are not always used with precision. These issues indicate a Band 5 to Band 6 performance, fitting comfortably at Band 6 for a coherent overall structure despite flawed mechanics.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'advancement', 'priorities', 'preferences', 'self-centred', 'consequences', and 'age-appropriate'. However, there are frequent noticeable errors in word formation, spelling, and word choice, such as 'decison', 'resposibilty', 'thier', 'develope', and 'beleives'. Furthermore, phrasing like 'according to my perspecive, I beleive' demonstrates redundancy and a limited control of lexical precision. While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, the persistent spelling and lexical errors prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.5 a fair assessment.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures ('So if parents made their decision...') and relative clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, particularly regarding missing verbs, incorrect verb forms ('When children were allowed...', 'helps them to about the onsequrences'), and punctuation issues. Errors such as 'thinks allow children' instead of 'think that allowing children' and 'To conclude that a balanced approach...' (which lacks a main verb phrase) demonstrate that attempts at complex grammar are often faulty. These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, aligning the grammar with a Band 5 score.

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