Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-24
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)
It is often argued that if children make their decisions according their own wishes in different aspects like food, clothes, and entertainment, it makes them a selfish individual. Some people believe that children should spend their lives according to their own decisions. I believe that parents should look after their needs and help them when they make decisions. It is because counseling can help them to make a better lifestyle.
It is often argued that parent observations matter because children have no experience. They do not know about spending lives, but their parents knew about which thing is better or which is not. Although they choose their favourite products, this habit makes them stubborn. For example, a person buy a mobile phone for entertainment purposes, he may give less attention to their study. Whenever their parents call them, he behave rudely because he does not want to leave their mobile phone. As a result, he cannot maintain a balance between education which can improve their lifestyle in future. He may become a personality who pay attention only their own wishes.
However, some people believe that children should have freedom to make decisions by own. They can not depend on their parents while they can do their shopping according their own wish. Furthermore, if children have these habits, they can make their life decisions in more accurate way near future. For instance, a person who have ability to choose their favourite product from their childhood age, they have experience about real or fake product. Consequently, can develop a successful carreer.
In conclusion, If parent make a balance in their lifestyle, they can achieve their goals. I believe that parent should guide their children, if they are wrong. In my views, children decisions matters a lot but parents should give instructions in their initial stage.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You address both views and give a personal position: you argue that parents should guide children while allowing them to make decisions. The examples about mobile-phone use and choosing products relate to the topic, but the discussion is only partially developed. The first example focuses on a child neglecting study and behaving rudely, without clearly showing how everyday choices generally create selfish adults. The second suggests that choosing products builds experience, but the link to making important future decisions or developing a successful career needs explanation. Your position also shifts slightly between saying parents should look after children’s needs and saying children’s decisions matter. State your view more precisely and explain each example’s relevance.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Connectors such as “Although,” “For example,” and “However” help signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the first body paragraph moves from parental experience to stubbornness, phone use, study, and future lifestyle without making each link explicit. Some references are also unclear, particularly “they” and “he” in the same example. The conclusion repeats the general idea of parental guidance but does not neatly summarise the two sides. Use clearer topic sentences, keep each paragraph focused on one main point, and make pronoun references and links between claims explicit.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “decisions,” “freedom,” “experience,” “balance,” and “instructions.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “maintain a balance” and “successful career.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or combinations are unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning harder to follow. Examples include “spend their lives according to their own decisions,” “parent observations,” and “make their shopping according their own wish.” Spelling errors such as “carreer” also reduce accuracy. Build a bank of natural collocations for parenting and decision-making, and check spelling and word forms when editing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning with “Although,” “Whenever,” and “because.” This shows an effort to vary sentence structure, but the range is limited and complex sentences are often inaccurate. Errors in agreement and verb forms appear in “a person buy,” “he behave,” and “a person who have.” Articles, plurals, and prepositions are also frequently missing or incorrect, as in “according their own wishes” and “their favourite product.” The sentence beginning “Consequently” is incomplete, and capitalisation after “In conclusion” is inconsistent. These errors can make some relationships between ideas difficult to understand. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and complete sentence construction before adding more complex clauses.
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