Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-09

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 often argued that children should be sent to preschool when they are three or fours years of age whereas there are some who say that parents should wait untill their children are old enough for primary school before sending them to school. Both the aspects have there advantages and disadvantages.

The children learn by what they see. When they are put into a room with other children they start doing what the other children are doing. It is called a chameleon effect, where the children like the chameleon act according to their surroundings and try to fit in. They start sitting rather than going around the room, learn to eat food on their own and even finish it. The things that they learn at such a tender age remains with them throughout their lives. For example, I once went to a preschool for a dental camp for those kids, I observed that when a child was throwing tantrum about not eating food the teacher gave an example of the child sitting next to him who had almost finished eating. The child immediately calmed down started eating. They also become more interactive as they meet new kids and also communicate with them.

The disadvantage on the other hand is that the child gets to spend comparatively less time with the family. They get ready go to preschool and after coming home they are so tired that they tend to sleep. In the evenings they want to go to play in the garden or park, get tired then come home, eat their meals and then sleep. The busy schedule at such a tender age gives them less time with their families and tend to drift them away from their cultural rootrs as well.

In my conclusion, I feel that the advantages of sending the children to preschool at three to four years of age outweighs the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both advantages and disadvantages and give a clear final view that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The examples about children copying peers, learning to eat independently, and becoming more interactive are relevant; the dental-camp anecdote also gives one point concrete support. However, the disadvantages are less fully explained: the account of tiredness and reduced family time is mostly descriptive, and the claim that children may drift from their cultural roots is introduced without an example or explanation. The opening mainly restates the topic rather than establishing the key reasons you will discuss. Develop both sides more evenly and explain how each example supports your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on drawbacks, and a conclusion. The contrast marker “on the other hand” helps signal the shift between sides, and the examples generally appear beside the points they illustrate. Some connections are less clear or mechanical, however. The long sequence describing the child’s daily routine (“In the evenings… then come home… and then sleep”) repeats the idea of tiredness without advancing the argument, while “The busy schedule… and tend to drift them away” does not clearly connect the schedule to cultural roots. Use clearer links between claims and explanations, and make each paragraph progress from its main point to its consequences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, including “interactive,” “surroundings,” “tender age,” and “cultural roots.” The explanation of children copying others is also supported by the phrase “chameleon effect,” though its meaning could be expressed more directly for an academic essay. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or informal, such as “throwing tantrum,” “gave an example of the child,” and “go to play.” There are also spelling errors, including “untill,” “there” for “their,” and “rootrs.” These do not prevent the main ideas from being understood, but they reduce precision. Choose more natural collocations and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including a contrast clause beginning “whereas” and a relative clause explaining the “chameleon effect.” The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur across the response. For example, “The things that they learn… remains” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “The child immediately calmed down started eating” needs a conjunction or punctuation between the actions. The sentence beginning “The busy schedule…” also shifts awkwardly from “gives them” to “tend to drift them away.” There are missing articles and punctuation in places, such as “about not eating food.” Review agreement, sentence boundaries, and parallel structure, while continuing to use complex sentences.

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