Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-24

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)

In the current era, education is the most crucial part for every children. few parents agree to send their kids to preschool when they are toddler, while other think that it is not the proper age of children to send them to primary school. Pros and cons for this will be discuss in the further paragraphs.

To begin with, toddler age is important for mental growth and emotional well-being. Sending to preschool at this age make them confident and they can learn quickly by seeing others which lead to the growth of the children. Moreover, being far away from parents for sometimes will help them to learn social interaction with others. For instance, children make new friends by interacting with other kids in school which will enhance their social skills.

However, preschool at an early age may affect kids emotional health among their parents. As this distract them from their parents affection because they had send them to strangers. Additionally, manners and discipline comes from home, so it is very important to be with parents while sometimes teachers are not able to give full attention as their parents give them and this may be detrimental for kids mental health. For example, parents leave their children to school which makes them to think that their parents do not love them and not giving attention so; they feel lonely while staying away and affect their brain.

In conclusion, both has advantages and disadvantages but according to me toddler age is enough for children to go to the primary school as, they can able to learn more things like social interactions, be independent, and confident in the community.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question by discussing social and learning benefits, then possible emotional disadvantages, and you give a clear personal view in the conclusion. The examples about making friends and feeling lonely are relevant. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the benefits are mostly asserted, and the disadvantage paragraph focuses heavily on one possible effect without explaining when or why it might occur. The opening also blurs preschool and primary school, although the task asks specifically about preschool at a young age. To strengthen the response, explain each main point more fully and make the distinction between preschool and primary school clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, one paragraph for advantages, one for disadvantages, and a conclusion. The sequence is generally easy to follow, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “However,” and “In conclusion” help show the direction of the argument. Cohesion is sometimes mechanical, though, and some links between ideas are unclear. For example, “As this distract them from their parents affection” does not clearly explain the preceding point, while the long example about parents not loving their children repeats the loneliness idea. Use clearer referencing and develop each paragraph around a distinct point, with transitions that show how the explanation supports it.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “mental growth,” “emotional well-being,” “social interaction,” and “social skills.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “detrimental for kids mental health.” However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive, which sometimes makes the meaning less natural: “when they are toddler,” “being far away from parents for sometimes,” and “affect their brain” are examples. The repeated use of “children,” “parents,” and “learn” also limits flexibility. Build a more precise range of phrases for early education and child development, and check whether each expression is idiomatic in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including clauses with “which” and “while,” and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, the range is limited, and complex sentences are often not controlled accurately. Errors include “education is the most crucial part for every children,” “Sending to preschool at this age make them confident,” and “they had send them to strangers.” Subject–verb agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction need more consistent control. Punctuation also causes problems in places, particularly in the final example, where a semicolon is used awkwardly. Practise building accurate sentences first, then extend them with one clear subordinate clause.

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

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