Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-15

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people say that physical education classes are an important part of a child's education. Others believe that it is more important to focus on academics during school time.

Discuss both these views, and give your opinion.

Give reasons for your answer, and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

There is always a debate about weather school students should attend physical education classes, while others argue they should pay more attention on important academic subjects during school hours. I believe children should take part in physical classes to stay healthy and fit. This essay will discuss the both viewpoints before representing opinion.

On the one hand, physical education helps students to build healthy habits such as exercising, running and participating in other games, while covering their necessary school education. In addition, these habits help them to make their self healthy, strong and punctual. As a result, they become more determined and disciplined towards their tasks and works. For example, a daily running before their school time can help to reach school at time with improving their overall health.

On the other hand, there are many reasons why people believe student should more focus on other important subjects because subjects like English and cultural subjects are important for children development and for there future. Moreover, these subjects help them to understand different culture, traditions and languages which leads to better and bright future. Secondly, others subjects like science, mathematics are assist children to built their profession in different fields such as doctor, scientist and teacher.

In my point of view, both kind of subjects education is must for students over all growth. While, physical education teach them discipline and improve their overall health, other subjects help them to build and choose their career.

In opinion, although subjects like English, mathematics are important for student personal development, physical education also plays same part in children growth by helping them become for structural and obedient. Therefore, they should learn both subjects in school for better development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on physical education versus academics and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and repetitive, particularly in the body paragraphs where points about discipline and future careers are stated simply without deep extension or varied supporting examples. For instance, the example of 'a daily running before their school time' is brief and slightly awkward. This places the response comfortably at Band 6, as it addresses all parts of the prompt with relevant ideas, but some points remain under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure, including an introduction, two opposing body paragraphs, and a dual-paragraph conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Moreover', although some referencing and transitional links are mechanical or slightly repetitive (e.g., repeating 'In my point of view' and 'In opinion' at the start of the final two paragraphs). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different arguments. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor, where the essay is coherent overall, but cohesion can occasionally be faulty or repetitive.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'disciplined', 'traditions', and 'profession'. However, there are notable word-choice errors, typos, and collocation issues throughout the text, such as 'weather' instead of 'whether', 'pay more attention on' instead of 'pay more attention to', 'make their self healthy' instead of 'keep themselves healthy', and 'there future' instead of 'their future'. Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and communication is not severely impeded, which is characteristic of Band 5.5 to 6.0. Given the frequency of basic lexical and spelling inaccuracies, a score of 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors such as subject-verb agreement issues ('others subjects like science, mathematics are assist', 'physical education teach them'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing ('both kind of subjects education is must'). While the reader can still follow the arguments, the high frequency of errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. The grammar control reflects the Band 5 level, where frequent errors in complex structures can cause some difficulty, though basic communication is maintained.

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

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