Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-26

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 5.0)

Their are differing views about whether youngsters should be permitted to make their personal choices on everyday matters ( such as food, clothes and entertainment) that might lead to the outcome were individuals would only think about themselves or it is essential to allow children to make decisions about matters that affect them. Although both perspectives have certain merits and demerits. This essay will examine both views associated with opinion.

On the one hand, allowing youngsters to make their own choices about food, outfit and certain entertainment might benefit them and enhance their decision making skills. It is often viewed, when parents allow their children to make their personal decision they tend to develop decision making skills and self- reliance. However, permitting them to have own choices might lead to certain drawbacks where the individual when grown up would only think about personal choices and benefits rather than prioritizing others need and choices. For instance, if child allowed to make personal choice since childhood it will affect them in future where they wont be putting others choices at priority and might affect their social relationship.

On the other hand, it is essential for parents to allow youngsters to make their personal choices so as to make them happy and feel satisfied. Parents allowing childrens from young age to make their personal choices would help them to feel happy and satisfied with their own preferences and likes. It will develop a sense of self-dependency and self-reliance skills that might benefit in future. For instance, children who are giving priority to their own likes since childhood might not depend on other for their necessity needs, they manage by themselves and don't rely on others.

In conclusion, while allowing youngesters to make their own choices on everyday matters have certain demerits, I believe that it is essential for children to make decisions about matters that affect them to understand the skills of self-dependency.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both views and state your opinion in the conclusion: you acknowledge that children’s choices may encourage self-reliance, while arguing that they should be able to decide matters affecting them. This is relevant to the question, but the discussion is only partially developed. The first view is presented mainly as a possible risk, and the example about future relationships is hypothetical rather than clearly explained. The second view repeats that choice makes children “happy and satisfied” and “self-reliant” without exploring why this outweighs the concern about selfishness. Develop each side with a specific, explained example and make your position clearer earlier in the essay; this would give the response fuller coverage of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is limited: several sentences repeat the ideas of personal choice, happiness, and self-reliance rather than adding a new step to the argument. Some links are also awkward or unclear, such as “Although both perspectives have certain merits and demerits. This essay will examine both views associated with opinion,” where the first sentence is incomplete and the next does not clearly state the writer’s position. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example explicitly to the point it supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “decision making skills,” “self-reliance,” “personal preferences,” and “social relationship,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “prioritizing others’ needs.” However, vocabulary is repetitive, especially “personal choices,” “self-reliance,” and “happy and satisfied,” and several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural. For example, “outfit” is less suitable than “clothing” in this context, while “necessity needs” is redundant and “youngesters” is misspelled. Aim for more precise collocations and vary repeated terms, while checking spelling and word forms. These improvements would make the argument clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning with “Although,” “when,” and “if.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. The opening has a sentence fragment: “Although both perspectives have certain merits and demerits.” There are also problems with agreement and sentence construction in “allowing youngesters … have certain demerits,” and missing articles or subjects in “if child allowed” and “when parents allow their children to make their personal decision.” Punctuation and apostrophes also need attention, as in “wont.” Practise building complete sentences with accurate subject–verb agreement, articles, and clause boundaries before adding more complex structures.

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