Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-27

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)

Educational institutions are considered most imperative part in an individual's life. Whether it is preschool, highschool or college, every institution has its own importance. Many individuals prefer sending their kids to preschools at an early age. However, others wait for their children to get old eanough for school. Advantages and disadvantages of both the aforementioned reasons will be discussed below.

To begin with, starting schools at an early age has several benefits which includes familiarity of the surroundings. Preschools facilitate skill development which assist children for long term as they get exposure. Also, at an early age children start learning skills like communication, time management, cognitive thinking and problem solving. Thus, children are able to make friends, participate in activities at a young age.

However, there are some cons as well. Early exposure of school impacts a child mental and physical health if the child is not prepared for schooling. At a young age, some children's brains are not developed enough to cope the school work. Moreover, in some cases, children tend to become introverts as they are not able to communicate properly in their classrooms. To exemplify, kids who get enough time to spend with their parents before enrolling in a school tend to score much higher grades and are able to grasp quickly.

In conclusion, although preschooling at a young age has several pros including cognitive tinking but its cons cannot be neglected. Thus, It depends on parents sole choice which one to consider.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both the advantages and disadvantages of early preschool, and your position that the choice depends on parents is present in the conclusion. The benefits of familiarity, skill development and socialising are relevant, as are concerns about readiness and wellbeing. However, these points are mostly asserted rather than explained with specific support. The example about children who spend more time with parents achieving higher grades is not clearly connected to evidence or to the comparison in the prompt. The response also falls four words short of the required minimum. To strengthen the answer, develop each side with a clear explanation or relevant example, and make your final position more decisive about when early preschool is beneficial or harmful.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on drawbacks and a conclusion. Transitions such as “To begin with,” “However,” and “In conclusion” make the direction of the discussion easy to follow. Some cohesion is mechanical, though, and the introduction promises that both sides “will be discussed below” rather than establishing a clear line of argument. Within paragraphs, ideas are sometimes placed next to each other without showing their relationship—for example, the list of skills is followed by making friends and participating in activities. The example in the disadvantages paragraph also shifts to academic achievement without a clear link. Use more explicit cause-and-effect connections and link examples directly to the point they support.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “skill development,” “cognitive thinking,” “problem solving,” and “exposure.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, but some wording is inaccurate or unnatural, and spelling errors reduce precision. Examples include “most imperative part,” “old eanough,” “preschooling,” and “cognitive tinking.” There are also collocation problems such as “cope the school work” and “impacts a child mental and physical health.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the general message, but they make the writing less natural. Aim for accurate, familiar collocations rather than choosing formal-sounding words that do not fit the context, and proofread carefully for spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “although” and conditional wording such as “if the child is not prepared.” Most sentences communicate their basic meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “which includes familiarity” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “starting schools at an early age has several benefits which includes” also needs a plural verb after “which.” Articles and possessives are missing in “a child mental and physical health” and “parents sole choice.” The phrase “are not developed enough to cope the school work” also has an incomplete grammatical pattern. Review agreement, articles and possessive forms, and check that verbs and prepositions fit the structures you use.

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