Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-27

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)

It is undeniable that pre-education plays a vital role in the life of children. Some people consider that children should attend preschool at an early age while other believe that they should be mature before sending a school. It has a many merits and demerits which I will explore in the following paragraph with examples.

To commence with, there are significant of benefits to join a school at an earlier age. The major advantage is that they can acquire valuable knowledge and skills during their formative years. In addition, youngsters can learn about teamwork, leadership and discipline. As a result, they become a cognitive developed. Second primary merits is that they become independence. besides, children learn about their daily routine of work by doing own rather than depend on their caregivers. Consequently, they become mentally mature and physically well-being.

On the other hand, there are some drawbacks to attend a preschool at an early age. First and foremost is that they can enjoy to their childhood life. In this way, they do not have any pressure of studies and take participate in the outdoor activities which helps to become fit as fiddle. Therefore, they feel relax, peace and calm. Another factor is that children can spend a lot of time with their elders in the staring age. Owing to this, they can learn many things from their parents such as love, affactions and respect of their elders. So, they can enjoy and develped in this ambience

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 preschool. However, the essay falls slightly short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which impacts the overall development of ideas. While the main points are relevant, they are somewhat underdeveloped and lack specific, illustrative examples. The position is clear, but the lack of a concluding paragraph prevents a summary of the main arguments, which is a key requirement for a balanced discussion. To improve, ensure you meet the word count and provide more depth to your supporting arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow between ideas is sometimes mechanical. While transition words like 'To commence with' and 'On the other hand' are used, the internal cohesion within paragraphs is occasionally weak due to grammatical errors. For instance, the transition 'Second primary merits is that...' is awkward. The lack of a clear conclusion makes the overall structure feel incomplete. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence followed by well-linked supporting details.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and sophistication. There are several instances of incorrect word forms or collocations, such as 'cognitive developed' instead of 'cognitively developed' and 'staring age' instead of 'early age'. Some phrases are also non-standard, such as 'enjoy to their childhood life'. While the meaning is generally clear, the range is limited, and the errors occasionally draw attention to the language rather than the ideas. Expanding your range of topic-specific vocabulary would help improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('It has a many merits'), incorrect word forms ('they become independence'), and missing articles or prepositions. These errors are noticeable and sometimes impede the flow of reading, although they do not completely obscure the meaning. To reach a higher band, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like pluralization and verb tense consistency.

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

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