Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-15

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 individuals think that children have the permission to make their own decisions on everyday matters (for instance, food, clothes, and entertainment) is likely to result in a community of people who only pursue about their own wishes. While, others believe that it is imperative for minors to make decisions about matters that affect them. From my perspective, it's better for children to make their own decisions because, it makes them indpendent and self-confident.

On the one hand, giving children too much freedom may make them selfish. If they are always allow to do whatever they want to do it eventually make them selfish. In the longer run, they will cannot be able to analyze other's feeling. For instance, children who always get whatever they demand may find it difficult to accept rules or share things with others.

On the other hand, allowing children to make their decisions about their daily lives is imperative. It helps them become more independent, confident, and responsible. As a result, it will also contribute to the success in future because through these kind of habits, they will get to know that making better decisions is our respnsibility. For example, when children will choose their own clothes and manage study time, they learn learn to make decision and understand the consequences of their choices.

In conclusion, although too much freedom may encourage selfish behaviour, allowing children to make decisions helps them develop independence and responsibility. I believe that making decisions by their own has more benefits then relying on parents or someone elses.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You discuss both views and state a clear opinion: you acknowledge that excessive freedom may encourage selfishness, while arguing that choice develops independence and confidence. The examples about sharing and choosing clothes or managing study time are relevant. However, the first view is explained more briefly, and the claim that children may struggle to understand others’ feelings could be developed with a clearer explanation. Your conclusion restates your position but adds little synthesis. The response is also 10 words below the 250-word minimum; the 18 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. Add a little relevant development, especially to the less-developed side, rather than padding the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” makes the progression easy to follow. Some links within sentences are less controlled, however. For example, “If they are always allow to do whatever they want to do it eventually make them selfish” is difficult to follow because the clauses are not clearly separated. The repeated use of “As a result” and “For example” also makes connections somewhat mechanical. To improve, make cause-and-effect links explicit and use pronouns with clear references, while varying transitions naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “independent,” “self-confident,” “consequences,” and “selfish behaviour.” There are also attempts at more formal wording, such as “imperative,” though some choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “have the permission to make” and “pursue about their own wishes” do not express the intended meaning idiomatically. Spelling and word-form errors, including “indpendent,” “respnsibility,” and “els es,” reduce accuracy. The repeated use of “make decisions” and “children” also limits flexibility. Build a more reliable range of collocations and check spelling and word forms during proofreading.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If they are always allow…” and a subordinate clause beginning “although” in the conclusion. However, several sentence patterns contain grammatical errors that make the reader pause. Examples include “If they are always allow,” “it eventually make them selfish,” “they will cannot be able,” and “when children will choose.” There are also problems with clause construction and punctuation, as in the opening sentence and “because, it makes them.” Practise accurate verb forms and modal constructions, and check that each sentence has a clear subject and correctly formed verb. More reliable control of these structures would make your ideas easier to read.

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