Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-19

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 7.0)

In this modern age, many people enroll their children on nursery and preschool programs at a very early age, while others believe that they should go to school when they are old enough to attend school. While there are some significant advantages tied to this phenomenon, several demerits need to be considered too.

One significant benefit of enrolling in preschool at an early age is fostering children's social development and cognitive skills. Interacting with peers and being part of the conflict and resolution process increases their social skills and cultivates a foundation for learning. Children, for instance often exposed to the world at an early age and learn communication skills, emotional intelligence and adaptability in diverse social settings. It not only aids their mental development but also promotes activities that teach numeracy, language terms and problem-solving skills.

However, sending children to preschool before they turn three or four years old will put them under academic pressure. At the initial stage of their life, they seek more family attention and time; instead, structured schedules and controlled behaviour can impede their natural curiosity and creativity. For instance, students at a very young age bombarded with academic burden might experience stress and anxiety, impacting mental well-being. Additionally, staying away from parents, children lose an opportunity to build connection and bonding time, which may create many more conflicts in future.

To conclude, although sending young kids to nurseries provides advantages such as support in developing mental strength, social and communication skills, it also has adverse effects like academic pressure,mental instability or lowering family bonding time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both advantages and disadvantages of early preschool attendance. The position is clear throughout, and the ideas are generally well-supported with relevant examples, such as the mention of social development and the potential for stress. However, the development of the disadvantages could be slightly more nuanced; for instance, the claim that children 'lose an opportunity to build connection' is a strong point, but it could be expanded with more specific detail to reach a higher band. Overall, the response is balanced and directly answers the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'One significant benefit,' 'However,' and 'Additionally' are used effectively to guide the reader through the argument. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the topic. The progression of ideas is smooth, and referencing is generally clear. While the transition between the introduction and the first body paragraph is standard, the overall structure is coherent and easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is sufficient and generally appropriate for the task. The student uses some good collocations like 'fostering children's social development,' 'cognitive skills,' and 'academic burden.' There are occasional minor inaccuracies, such as 'mental instability' which is perhaps too strong a term for the context of preschool stress, and 'language terms' which is slightly vague. However, the range is adequate to convey ideas with precision, and the errors do not impede communication. The student demonstrates a good attempt at using less common vocabulary to discuss educational and developmental concepts.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several error-free sentences, and the control of grammar is generally good. However, there are some minor slips, such as 'enroll their children on' (should be 'in') and 'students at a very young age bombarded with' (missing 'who are'). Punctuation is generally accurate, though there is a missing space after a comma in the conclusion ('pressure,mental'). Despite these occasional errors, the grammatical control is strong enough that the meaning is never obscured, and the variety of structures is sufficient for this level.

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

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