Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-10

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)

People have argued that letting youngsters to make individual choices on daily matter results in a society where people only contemplate about their own wishes, while others believe that it is crucial for children to make their own decisions that are related to them. However, this essay agrees to the latter opinion due to it putting an important impact to their independent choices and social life later in the future.

Some individuals believe that by just allowing children to have these independent decisions can make turn into a very incompetent and selfish person in society, however, children have every rights to make their own choices on everyday matters like the food they want to eat or the clothes they want to wear. These choices make a huge impact to their life. With choices, they are able to understand the basic rights they have and therefore think about the best results for them. For example, the beginning of adolescense is the time where they are taught about whats right and wrong, therefore, this would not affect them to be selfish of their own wishes as they know what's best for them while making bold decisions. These independent choices also teaches them to be less dependent to parents as they grow older, allowing them to live well without having their parents to continue to make up their minds for their kids.

Moreover, the most notable problem is the fact that decisions can truly affect one's social life. Not being able to make basic daily choices can result to them being afraid of making hard wishes. As children grow into the teenager phase, they need to make their life choices regarding their career path. This phase is often the era where the kids are most afraid of as they have never make these hard choices before. As a result, they will eventually regret their life choices because they were afraid of standing up for their own matters.

In conclusion, independent wishes will not result to society being selfish for their own wishes, but rather they are taught in early age to stand up for their own matters to allow a better lifestyle later in the future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear opinion in the introduction, supporting children’s ability to make decisions, and return to this position in the conclusion. The response also presents the concern that children may become selfish and offers relevant examples involving everyday choices and later career decisions. However, the discussion of the opposing view is brief: it is mentioned as a risk but not explained with a developed reason or example. Some supporting claims are also unclear or insufficiently established, such as the suggestion that children will regret career choices because they have not practised making decisions. Develop both views more evenly and explain how everyday choices can build responsibility without encouraging self-centredness.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the ideas generally progress from everyday decisions to their possible effects later in life. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “For example,” and “As a result” help signal relationships between points. At times, however, the progression is weakened by unclear connections: the first body paragraph moves from selfishness to rights and then independence without fully explaining each link. Some references, including “These choices” and “This phase,” could be more precise. Make each paragraph’s main point explicit, then connect each example directly to that point rather than relying mainly on transition phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “independent choices,” “selfish,” “social life,” and “career path,” which allows you to discuss both childhood and later consequences. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “the most notable problem.” However, several inaccurate or unnatural word combinations make parts of the argument harder to follow, including “contemplate about their own wishes,” “make turn into,” and “hard wishes.” Some word forms and spelling are also unreliable, as in “adolescense.” Aim for precise, natural collocations and check whether a phrase expresses the intended meaning. For example, use “think only about their own wishes,” “turn into,” and “difficult decisions.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrast in the opening sentence and a conditional structure in “As children grow into the teenager phase, they need to make their life choices.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors occur across sentence patterns and sometimes make relationships unclear. Examples include “letting youngsters to make” (the verb pattern should be “letting youngsters make”), “These independent choices also teaches” (subject–verb agreement), and “they have never make these hard choices” (verb form). There are also problems with articles, plurals and sentence construction, such as “every rights” and “can make turn into.” Review verb patterns, agreement and past participles, then proofread each sentence for a complete, grammatically consistent structure.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.