Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-19

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 6.0)

Some parents wait for their children to grow old enough for primary education, while others send their kids to preschool when they are still in their third or fourth years of age. The primary benefit of sending them to preschool in early age is better cognitive skill development, whereas it can affect their early childhood memories.

There are several pros of sending one's children to preschool. The brain is highly developing when they are quite young. Kids can develop better mannerism, habits and memorization skills if they start early education. For instance, my three years old niece is going to daycare, and have already learned about different shapes of geometry. Moreover, if both the parents are working, preschool can help them to manage their time and give them relive from the stress of hiring a nanny. As nannies or househelp will only take care of kids when they are away, but would not be able to teach them anything new.

In contrast, there could be some harsh consequences of this trend. Children often want their parent's warmth and presence when they are in early age. Therefore, sending them to daycare or preschool could make them feel distant. Furthermore, this affect their childhood memories. Whenever they will think about their childhood when they get old, they will miss parent's presence. For example, a kid who was send to preschool when he was too young, might hesitate to share his feeling to his parents because of the loose bond. This also give rise to weak emotional attachment to one's parents in the later age.

In conclusion, sending kids to preschool when they are three or four might help them in better skill development and help parents with busy routines, but often create strong boundries among them as they miss their presence in their childhood.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of sending children to preschool at a young age. The student takes a clear position throughout the essay. The advantages are supported by relevant ideas, such as cognitive skill development and convenience for working parents, citing a personal example of a niece learning shapes. The disadvantages are similarly explored, touching upon emotional bonds and parent-child relationships. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed and would benefit from deeper elaboration. Overall, the requirements of the task are well-met, aligning with Band 6.5 to 7.0 descriptors. Because the ideas are clearly relevant and presented with a distinct position, a score of 6.5 is well-earned.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a clear logical overall organisation and progression. It is appropriately divided into four paragraphs: an introduction, two body paragraphs focusing on pros and cons respectively, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', and 'In contrast', though referencing is sometimes slightly mechanical (e.g., 'Whenever they will think about their childhood when they get old'). Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately. The logical flow from one point to the next is generally maintained, though the transitions between ideas within the paragraphs could be smoother. This level of organisation aligns closely with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'cognitive skill development', 'emotional attachment', and 'daycare'. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocational errors throughout the text, such as 'better mannerism' (should be 'better manners'), 'in their third or fourth years of age' (should be 'at the age of three or four'), 'give them relive' (should be 'relief'), and 'strong boundries' (should be 'boundaries' or 'barriers'). Despite these errors, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without severely impeding communication, fitting the Band 6.0 profile.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating conditional and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'If both the parents are working, preschool can help them...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'The brain is highly developing' (should be 'develops rapidly'), 'my three years old niece' (should be 'three-year-old niece'), 'have already learned' (agreement error with 'niece'), 'affect their childhood memories' (tense and form issues), and 'who was send' (should be 'sent'). Punctuation and article usage also exhibit minor flaws. These errors occasionally cause some difficulty, placing the grammar at a Band 5.5 to 6.0 level.

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

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