Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-16

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 6.0)

Nowadays, a lot of people are debating over the fact that whether to send their children to school at an early age or to wait until they are old enough to enroll into the primary school. People who support the idea of sending children to preschool explain physical and mental development as a key advantage, while opposition mention that children safety is a major concern in parents mind.

Firstly, sending children to preschool has contributed significantly to boost physical as well as mental development. Children learn quickly by meeting children of similar age from different ethnicity. Children are exposed to an environment under the guidance of teachers, which assist to learn new skills at faster speed. Secondly, they learn by participating in activities such as story telling, solving puzzle, drawing, playing with toys and much more. These activities enhances critical thinking and decision making skills. For instance, the study published by the University of Oxford showcase that young children between age 2-4 years young have the highest learning capabilities and learn by seeing others. Moreover, parents should allocate few hours everyday with their children to do learning activities such as reading a book before bed.

However, people who oppose this view mention that parents are stressed about children safety. Children also get stressed and cry when they recognize they are going to school. Parents have observed that children started crying at midnight, which leads to illness and potentially an anxiety at a young age. Furthermore, parents also comes under more financial burden. Tutition and transportation fees are currently at peak, which forces parents to do more working hours, which leads to few hours to spend with their children.

To conclude, there are advantages such as physical and mental development at an early age. While drawbacks such as children safety and finance are pulling away parents to send their children to preschool.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages (physical and mental development) and disadvantages (safety concerns and financial burden) of sending children to preschool at a young age. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are generally extended and supported, such as mentioning specific activities like story-telling and referencing a study by the University of Oxford. However, there is a minor digression in the second paragraph where the writer advises parents to allocate time for home activities, which shifts away from the prompt's focus on preschool. Overall, the task is handled competently, earning a solid Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphs are used appropriately to separate advantages and disadvantages. Cohesive devices are employed to signal progression, such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'However'. Nevertheless, some cohesion is a bit mechanical or faulty, as seen in the phrasing 'while opposition mention that children safety is a major concern'. Furthermore, referencing and pronoun usage occasionally lack precision, leading to a slightly disjointed flow between sentences. Progression is evident, but it can be improved with smoother transitions. This performance aligns well with Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'contributed significantly', 'critical thinking', and 'financial burden'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the response, such as 'children safety' instead of 'child safety', 'parents mind' instead of 'parents' minds', and 'Tutition' (spelling error). Additionally, phrases like 'do more working hours' and 'potential an anxiety' show awkward phrasing. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the score from reaching a higher band. A Band 6.0 is appropriate here.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in grammatical structures (e.g., 'People who support the idea...'). However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward structures present. For instance, the opening sentence contains a redundancy ('debating over the fact that whether'). Other errors include subject-verb agreement issues like 'parents also comes under' and incorrect prepositions or article usage. Despite these recurring mistakes, the meaning remains clear and communication is rarely impeded. This corresponds to a Band 6.0.

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