Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-01

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)

In the modern society, some people believe that children should be allowed to make their own decision on daily matters, such as food, clothes and entertainment is likely to result in society of individuals who only think about their own wishes. Others argue that it is important for children to make their choices about the matters that affect them. In my opinion, although allowing children to decide on the everyday matters plays a crucial role in developing their personal and soft skills, it may lead to the matter that children may likely to think about their wishes than other things.

On the one hand, children are able to make their choices early from the daily matters may lead to the formation of self-fish. When the children are allowed to make the decision very soon, they may think everything should be like their opinions, leading to they only think about their wishes in the society, which regardless the equality. For example, children are allowed to wear their favourite clothes when they are young, they likely to defend to wear uniform when they go to school and they only want to do what they really want regardless of others.

On the other hand, there are several reasons that children are allowed to make their own choices may important. The major reasons is that the personal developments. When children are able to decide the surroundings about them, it may encourage them to develop the independence and responsibility from the smallest things. By that way, it sharpen their making decision skills and they can make the important decision in their future life without asking for someone else. For example, the children who allowed to make the decision on the food and clothes without the parental controls are likely to live independently in the future. Additionally, allowing children making their choices teaches them to develop other soft skills, such as debating skills and critical thinking, they may think carefully about their decisions before making, then they have to debate if their parents do not allow. These activities may help them to develop themself.

In conclusion, while allowing children to make their own decision on daily matters are significant in personal development and developing soft skills, it may cause to children only think about their wishes and form irresponsibility.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and give a position: you recognise that children’s choices can build independence and skills, while also agreeing they may encourage self-centred behaviour. The two body paragraphs are relevant, and the examples about clothing, school uniforms, and choosing food help illustrate your points. However, the discussion is only partly developed. The concern that children may resist uniforms is asserted rather than explained, and the benefits of decision-making are listed without considering how parental guidance could balance them. Your opinion is also somewhat qualified and not fully clarified: the introduction says choice plays a crucial role but may have negative effects, while the conclusion repeats both sides without stating which view you ultimately support. Develop and explain each main idea more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the overall direction easy to identify. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because ideas are joined in long, loosely connected sentences. For example, the sentence beginning “Additionally, allowing children making their choices” combines several claims about soft skills, careful thinking, and debating without clearly separating their relationships. Some linking is also mechanical, and references such as “these activities” are not fully precise. Use shorter sentences to distinguish each reason and example, and make the connection between evidence and the paragraph’s main point explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “independence,” “responsibility,” “critical thinking,” and “personal development.” These terms help communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several noticeable word-choice, word-form, and spelling errors make parts of the response awkward or unclear. For instance, “self-fish” appears to mean “selfish,” “regardless the equality” does not express the intended idea naturally, and “develop themself” is an inaccurate form. Phrases such as “the surroundings about them” and “the matter that children may likely to think” are also imprecise. Build accuracy by learning common collocations and checking word forms; choose direct expressions such as “make decisions,” “consider others,” and “develop their skills.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses with “although,” “when,” and “if,” and the reader can generally identify your main argument. However, the range is limited in practice because many complex sentences are faulty, and frequent errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to understand. Examples include “children are able to make their choices early … may lead,” where the subject and verb structure do not align, and “they may likely to think,” which has an incorrect verb pattern. There are also recurring problems with articles, agreement, and sentence construction, as in “The major reasons is” and “allowing children … are significant.” Practise building complete clauses and checking subject–verb agreement before adding extra ideas.

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