Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-04
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 these days, there is on going debate whether children should make there own decisions for choosing their food, clothes and entertainment or they could be self-centered if they choose thensleves. I believe that childer should be allowed to make their own choices.
One of the main reason why children should be allowed to do whatever they want to do is that their decision making skills would be improved which going to help them in future while choosing career for them, as they will be well aware about right and wrong choices .Also, childern's confidence would be improved by which they can easily have great conversation, take part in compitions and preform various tasks. For example, childern can opt their subject according to their taste rather than selected by their parents. As a results, allowing children makes desicion feel valued and respected.
However, by making own desicion, children may become selfish because they are immature and lack of experience make them choosing wrong or not benificial thing. For instance, when parents allow their offsprings select food for themselves they probably choice fast food over healty and home-made food. which results in many disease and health issuses. Hence, childern can get disadvantages for them without recognizing it.
In conclusion, even though making decision by children has many drowbacks for them because it can make them thinking about only about themselves,I believe it is benificial for children to make their own decision as they become more confident and self-awear.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You discuss both views and state a clear preference for children making their own choices, so the response is relevant to the task. The benefits are supported with decision-making, confidence and choosing school subjects; the opposing view is illustrated through children selecting fast food. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the link between everyday choices and future career decisions is asserted rather than explained, and the concern about selfishness is treated mainly as poor food choices rather than considering its effect on others. The conclusion repeats your position but does not add much synthesis. The response is also three words below the required minimum. Develop each side with a fuller explanation and a specific example to address the task more completely.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph supporting children’s choices, a contrasting paragraph, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “However” and “In conclusion” help signal the direction of the argument, and the examples generally appear beside the ideas they support. Cohesion is sometimes mechanical, though, and some links between claims are unclear. For example, the move from improved decision-making to “great conversation” and competitions is not fully explained, while “which results in many disease” does not clearly connect grammatically to the preceding sentence. Improve progression by making each paragraph develop one central point and using clearer references and cause-and-effect links rather than simply adding claims.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “decision making skills,” “selfish,” “confidence,” and “immature,” and the reader can generally identify your main ideas. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate word choices, collocations and spelling errors make the writing less clear or natural. Examples include “make their own decisions for choosing,” “opt their subject,” “choice fast food,” and “self-awear”; the intended meanings are usually recoverable, but the phrasing is not idiomatic. Spelling problems such as “childern,” “benificial” and “desicion” are also noticeable. Build a more accurate set of topic phrases and check spelling and word forms carefully, especially in repeated key terms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a reason clause beginning “because” and a conditional example about parents allowing children to select food. However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For instance, “their decision making skills would be improved which going to help them” has problems with the relative clause and verb form, while “lack of experience make them choosing” has agreement and verb-pattern errors. Sentence boundaries and punctuation also need attention: “...home-made food. which results...” leaves a fragment, and spacing around commas and full stops is inconsistent. Practise building accurate clauses first, then combine them using controlled relative and cause-and-effect structures.
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.