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)

Nowadays some parents prefer to enroll their kids in preschool , however others send their children directly to primary schools. There are benefits and drawbacks of this trend which I will elaborate in the essay with rational conclusion.

To commence with the first advantage of this preschool enrollment is development of social skills . To explicate it, children can develop social skills , for example communication, cooperation at very young age when they start preschool education . Besides this, independence is also the key factor of preschooling as children become independence and self- reliant and as a result they better prepare for their primary education . For example , children who enroll in preschool becomes more confident and perform better in their academics than others who do not take admission in preschools.

Despite this, there are some deteramentail effects of sending children to preschool and the first is anxiety., because of separation young child feels stressed and home sickness. Moreover, children spend more time in these preschool doing studies and activities they have less time to spend with their parents. These schools does not only effects children mentally , but also are very expensive .

To conclude, although sending children to preschools provide benefits such as social skills and self reliance, however this schooling is quite expensive and young children feels anxiety.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages of preschool. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of the arguments. While the main points (social skills, independence vs. anxiety, cost) are relevant, they are not fully developed or supported with sufficient detail. The conclusion is brief and lacks a clear personal stance or summary of the implications. To improve, you must expand on your points with more specific examples and ensure the essay meets the length requirement to allow for a more comprehensive discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a basic attempt at using cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Besides this', and 'Despite this'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the transition between ideas could be smoother. The use of referencing is occasionally unclear, and the overall progression of ideas is somewhat limited by the brevity of the text. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph develops a single, clear theme.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You use some relevant terms like 'social skills', 'self-reliant', and 'academics', but there are noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'deteramentail' (detrimental) and 'effects' used instead of 'affects'. The range is somewhat limited, relying on basic phrasing. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary and ensure correct spelling and word forms, such as using 'independent' instead of 'independence' when describing the children.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include 'children who enroll in preschool becomes' (subject-verb agreement error) and 'these schools does not only effects' (incorrect verb form and subject-verb agreement). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before commas. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct verb forms, and proofreading for basic punctuation errors. Increasing the variety of complex sentences while maintaining accuracy will also help raise your score.

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

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