Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-20

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 6.5)

Academia play crucial role in a child's growth. A fraction of society support the idea of children being admitted into class of students who have similar academic abilities but I disagree with that. I believe, children should be raised with students who have different capabilities to built various important skills.

Placing kids in the class with the different range of academic abilities is important for learning new hobbies. A survey on a 7th grade class shows, 76% of students who actively participated in any kind of sports like swimming, basketball, running, etc., have scored lower than the class average. Nevertheless, these children have secured admission in top universities because the admission committees prefer students who show participation in extra-curricular activities. This means when a child see other children showing interest in external activities other than studies, they attempt to do those activites and it helps them to pick up new hobbies.

Another reason why students should be placed with all diverse range of abled students is that it pushes them to collaborate with other students. For instance, I was a very shy child in primary school and I found art and craft challenging. One of my classmates encouranged me to learn origami with her as she was excellent with it. This inspired me to be more creative as a child.

However, when children have classmate with similar level of academic abilities, they feel more comfortable to ask questions. They have similar pace of learning which saves time of the class.

Overall, classes with diverse skilled children is very helpful for a child's holistic growth but they should be encouranged to ask question openly without feeling nervous or less capable.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The argument regarding diverse abilities is supported by personal experience, but the link between academic ability and extra-curricular activities is slightly tenuous, as the prompt focuses specifically on academic performance. The counter-argument is acknowledged but could be more thoroughly explored to balance the essay. Overall, the response meets the requirements of the task, but the depth of analysis could be improved to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the progression of ideas is generally easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'Nevertheless', 'For instance', and 'However' are used to link ideas, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, although the connection between the survey example and the main argument about diverse academic abilities could be more explicitly stated to improve the flow of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. There are some attempts at less common items like 'holistic growth' and 'academic abilities', which are used appropriately. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'Academia play' (should be 'Education plays') and 'diverse range of abled students' (which is slightly awkward phrasing). The range is sufficient to convey meaning clearly, but it lacks the precision and sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'A fraction of society support' (subject-verb agreement), 'built various important skills' (should be 'build'), and 'when a child see' (should be 'sees'). Punctuation is generally fine, but there are occasional slips. The errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score in this criterion.

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

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