Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-06

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 6.5)

Some people believe that physical training classes should be an essential part of children's schooling, while others argue that schools should devote more time to academic learning. Although academic subjects are more crucial for one's career and future, I believe physical education is as important as intellectual learning as it helps to increase focus, better concentration and provides healthy body which eventually helps to improve academic performance.

A physical education is an important for children to improve their physical and mental health. A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Regular exercises prevent obesity and other health concerns. Another striking benefit of physical activities is that it help to manage stress, anxiety and help to improve focus and concentration on studies. Therefore, physical activities improve student's academic results rather than just taking their time away.

On the other hand, academic subjects are important for children's future and better employment opportunities. During schools, students have different theoratical subject to study, sometimes, they don't have any spare time to play. For instance, if a student wants to become a doctor, he has to study hard and for longer hours. Same if someone wants to become an engineer, he has to acheive an excellent score in mathematics and physics. Schools can not afford to reduce the study time in favour of physical activities.

Overall, physical education plays as an important role in student's academic performance by improving their mental and physical health. I believe, schools have to maintain a reasonable balance between academic learning and physical activities to achieve better results.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both views and state a clear position: academic subjects matter for future careers, but physical education is equally important and schools should balance the two. The discussion of exercise, health, stress and concentration is relevant, and the doctor and engineer examples help explain why academic study is valued. This meets the task well, with some elements of a more fully developed response. However, the academic-side examples mainly repeat the point that students need to study hard; they do not explore why school time might need to prioritise academics or how this could be balanced with exercise. Develop that reasoning and support your final recommendation with a practical example, such as scheduling regular PE without reducing essential subject instruction.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion that restates your position. The progression from the benefits of exercise to the importance of academic subjects is easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “On the other hand” and “Overall” guide the reader. This is a coherent arrangement with a clear line of development. To make the connections more flexible and precise, improve a few references and transitions: “Therefore” introduces a conclusion, but the link between stress management and academic results could be explained more explicitly. The sentence beginning “Same if someone wants to become an engineer” also feels abrupt; connect it more smoothly to the doctor example and the paragraph’s main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “physical education,” “employment opportunities,” “obesity,” “stress” and “concentration.” These choices make the main ideas clear, and phrases such as “maintain a reasonable balance” are appropriate to the discussion. You also attempt more specific expressions, but some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “A physical education,” “healthy body,” and “theoratical subject.” Spelling errors such as “acheive” also reduce accuracy. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and naturalness. Check common collocations and word forms, and prefer “theoretical subjects” to “theoratical subject” and “a healthy body” to “healthy body.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including a concessive opening with “Although” and a conditional example beginning “if a student wants to become a doctor.” Most sentences communicate their meaning, and the paragraph structure helps the reader follow your argument. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with articles, agreement and sentence construction. For example, “A physical education is an important” needs a different article pattern, while “it help” should agree with its subject. In “Schools can not afford,” the auxiliary is conventionally written as one word, “cannot.” The sentence “Same if someone wants to become an engineer” is also incomplete. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and verb, and vary complex structures while maintaining accurate agreement.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.