Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-31

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)

While some argue that sports lesson is crucial at school, others believe that students only need to focus on academic lessons. I will discuss both views and present my opinion.

On the one hand, people believe that physical education classes are essential during school time. Being physically active beside studying is crucial for students, the reason is that, they wont get drained from all the theoretical subject by getting one lesson to do some sports. For example, sitting for hours at the same desk and listening to teachers must be really hard for school student and they may lose motivation for studies. In addition, when they know that on the next period they have physical education class they will have a slight excitement for the day.

On the other hand, others think that getting sport classes during school time wont allow students to focus fully on the academic studies, which is more important for the significant number of pupils and parents.

From my view, students should get physical education classes during school time, because only focusing on academics wont be easy and it will make them exhausted.

To conclude, I think it is beneficial for school students to get sport classes beside academics. Because it will motivate them and give let them stay healthy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both sides of the question and state a clear preference for including physical education, especially in the introduction and conclusion. Your point that sport can break up long periods of classroom study is relevant, and the example of students losing motivation after sitting for hours helps illustrate it. However, the opposing view is only briefly mentioned: you say sport may prevent students from focusing on academics, but do not explain why or support this with an example. Your own position is also supported mainly by the idea that students become exhausted. The response is 36 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to develop both views. Explain each side more fully and add a specific example or consequence for each.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph for each view, your opinion, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” makes the progression easy to follow. However, the second viewpoint is contained in a single sentence, so the discussion feels unbalanced and the progression stops before that idea is explained. Some links are also mechanical or unclear. For example, “the reason is that” introduces an awkward explanation, while “Because” begins a sentence fragment in the conclusion. Develop the opposing paragraph with a reason and example, and connect ideas within paragraphs using clearer cause-and-effect links and references.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “physical education classes,” “academic studies,” “motivation,” and “theoretical subject.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “lose motivation” and “focus fully.” However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations sound unnatural or imprecise, including “sports lesson,” “beside studying,” and “get sport classes.” “Significant number of pupils and parents” is also vague in this context. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding your position, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Build a wider set of accurate expressions for discussing exercise, academic priorities, concentration, and student wellbeing, and check collocations when revising.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some attempts at complex structures, including “when they know that on the next period they have physical education class…” and the relative clause “which is more important…”. The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “the reason is that, they wont get drained” has faulty punctuation and clause construction; “school student” needs a plural form in this general statement; and “Because it will motivate them” is a sentence fragment after the conclusion’s previous sentence. There are also missing apostrophes in “wont.” Aim to form complete sentences consistently, use commas to separate clauses accurately, and check articles and singular/plural agreement. More controlled complex sentences would improve the range.

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