Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-11-12

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that children learn better when they are placed in classes with children of similar academic abilities. Others believe that children learn better when they are in classes with children representing a diverse range of academic abilities.

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)

The question of whether the classroom should be classified according to the capabilities of scholar is often a subject to considerable debate. While some argue that same academic abilities students should be included in one class others maintain to include diversely qualified childrens. However, I support the latter view because it pursuades the children to be competitive and make them mature despite the age.

On the one hand, students will not be stressed because everyon has the same level of creativity and there is no pressure from the guardians as well to secure the grade positions in the classroom. This means that, they can join other extracurricular activities too. For example, if a child is not forced to do something he does not want, he will be wanting to spend his free afterschool time playing some sports or an instrument to learn more beside being a bookworm.

In contrast, there is a competition among the attendants to perform better then everybody else in the school. Learning becomes harder to the children with lower capabilities, as no one wants to share what they have understood in the classroom. For example, if there is a scholarship award for top five students in the classroom, helping each other would end up the school's grant to other's door. Furthermore, students would develop maturity from early age because of the pressure they face while competing between themselves. For instance, child with similar capabilities would complete their homework and will be at the playgroud enjoying, meanwhile, the other group would be focusing on achieving the outstanding results, which is what the grown-ups are doing right now.

In conclusion, to be practical and have real world experiences, it is important to be in a classroom with competitive classmates as it encourages them to learn more.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You discuss both classroom arrangements and state your preference for mixed-ability classes, especially in the introduction and conclusion. However, the response only partly fulfils the task because the explanation of the first view is brief and does not clearly show why grouping students of similar ability might help them learn. The argument for mixed-ability classes is also not consistently convincing: the claim that students will compete and become mature is asserted, while the scholarship example mainly explains why classmates might not help one another. Some examples, such as the contrast between children playing and others pursuing results, are difficult to connect to the learning benefits of mixed-ability teaching. Develop each view with a clear learning-related reason and explain how each example supports it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the one hand,” “In contrast,” and “In conclusion” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and some links between claims and examples are difficult to follow. For instance, the scholarship example does not clearly connect to the point about competition, while “Furthermore” introduces maturity without fully explaining the relationship to the preceding idea. Referencing in “the other group” is also unclear. Make each paragraph follow a simple sequence—main point, explanation, relevant example—and use linking phrases only where the relationship between ideas is explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “capabilities,” “extracurricular activities,” “competitive,” and “maturity,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, several inaccurate word choices and collocations make parts of the argument awkward or unclear. Phrases such as “classified according to the capabilities of scholar,” “same academic abilities students,” and “end up the school's grant to other's door” do not express the intended ideas naturally. There are also spelling and word-form slips, including “pursuades,” “everyon,” and “playgroud.” Build accuracy by learning common academic collocations for ability grouping and cooperation, and check spelling and word forms during revision. More precise phrasing would make your ideas easier to follow.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional example beginning “if a child is not forced” and a reason clause with “because.” This shows an attempt to vary sentence structure, but errors recur in agreement, articles, plurals, and verb forms. Examples include “same academic abilities students,” “diversely qualified childrens,” and “a child … he will be wanting”; the sentence beginning “For example, if there is a scholarship award” also has an unclear grammatical relationship between its clauses. Commas are sometimes placed awkwardly, as in “This means that, they can join.” Review sentence construction and subject–verb agreement, and use simpler, controlled sentences when a longer structure becomes difficult to manage.

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.