Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some parents send their children to preschool when they are three or four years old. Other parents wait until their children are old enough for primary school before they send them to school.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of sending children to preschool at a young age.
Give reasons for your answer, and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

There are few guardians who like send their toddlers to school earlier than appropriate age. There are some circumtances to send them earlier than enough age and also have some benefits to do so. They have different thinking and reasons behind this.

Lets start with advantages, firstly some parents think that to get start earlier in preschool for young can be more beneficial for their child in term of early learning. For example, in preschool toddler start learning about some number and alphabet stuff while playing and also get engaged with other similar age. Therefore, parent want their children to start at very small age.

On the other side, many think that it's better to spent some more time with their kids at home instead of sending them to preschool. Because if they send them before than actual age, they can't get time to spent time with them. Furthermore, they don't want to give them study pressure from minor age. For example, A kid going to school and spending time at school with teachers and other children and then after getting back to home with some homework so parents do not get enough time to spent with them.

In conclusion, Some thinking as educational purpose for their little one that's why they want to send them primary school for better education whereas some want to spent time with their children and also want to make sure about their carrying at early age. These might be the reason they think opposite.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages of early preschool attendance. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention 'early learning' and 'social engagement' as benefits, and 'lack of family time' and 'study pressure' as drawbacks, these points are not fully extended with specific, convincing examples. The introduction and conclusion are quite brief and lack a clear, personal position or a summary of the main arguments. To improve, ensure each body paragraph provides a more detailed explanation of the 'why' and 'how' behind your points, rather than just stating them.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'firstly', 'on the other side', and 'in conclusion'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the sentence structure is fragmented. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that your sentences connect more naturally to one another, rather than relying on simple transitions.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as 'send them to school' and 'spend time'. There are also some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'circumtances' (spelling error) and 'minor age' (which should be 'a young age'). To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to child development and education, and work on using collocations more accurately to express your ideas with greater sophistication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of reading. Examples include 'There are few guardians who like send' (should be 'like to send'), 'in term of' (should be 'in terms of'), and 'before than actual age' (should be 'before the actual age'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of prepositions. Proofreading your work for these common errors will help increase your score significantly.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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