Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Nowadays, a lot of people are debating over the fact 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 opponents mention that children’s safety is a major concern in parent’s mind.

Firstly, sending children to preschool has contributed significantly to boosting physical as well as mental development. Children learn quickly by meeting children of similar age from different ethnicities. Children are exposed to an environment under the guidance of teachers, which assists to learn new skills at a faster speed. Secondly, they learn by participating in activities such as storytelling, solving puzzles, drawing, playing with toys and much more. These activities enhance critical thinking and decision making skills. For instance, the study published by the University of Oxford showcases that young children between age 2-4 years young have the highest learning capabilities and learn by seeing others. Moreover, parents should allocate several hours every day 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’s 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 anxiety at a young age. Furthermore, parents also come under more financial burden. Tuition and transportation fees are currently at their peak, which forces parents to work more, which leads to less family time.

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

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of sending children to preschool at a young age. The writer establishes a clear position from the introduction and develops relevant ideas throughout the body paragraphs. For instance, advantages such as physical and mental development are supported by examples like solving puzzles and drawing, alongside a reference to a university study. Disadvantages such as safety concerns and financial burdens are also clearly explained. However, the development of ideas could be slightly more extended in places, such as when the essay briefly digresses into advice for parents ("parents should allocate several hours every day with their children"), which slightly detracts from pure discussion. Overall, the task is well covered, aligning closely with the Band 7 descriptor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving smoothly from the introduction to the advantages, the disadvantages, and finally the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used adequately to link ideas, such as "Firstly", "Secondly", "Moreover", and "However". Paragraphing is managed appropriately to separate distinct themes. Nevertheless, referencing and cohesion can occasionally feel somewhat mechanical rather than entirely seamless, and a few transitional links are slightly formulaic. This places the response comfortably in the Band 7 category, as the overall progression is clear and logical.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and topical phrases such as "critical thinking and decision making skills", "financial burden", and "learning capabilities". Word choice is generally appropriate, though there are some slight awkwardness or minor lexical inaccuracies, such as "children safety" instead of "child safety" or "children's safety", and the phrase "waiting until they are old enough to enroll into the primary school" contains an unnecessary article. Spelling and word formation are generally sound. The vocabulary range provides sufficient flexibility and precision for Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures throughout the response. Examples of complex forms include relative and subordinate clauses, such as "People who support the idea of sending children to preschool explain..." and "Children learn quickly by meeting children of similar age from different ethnicities." There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasings present, such as "debating over the fact whether to send" (redundant wording) and "children between age 2-4 years young" (unnatural collocation). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and errors do not impede communication. This balance of complex structures with persistent minor errors represents solid Band 6 performance.

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