Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-27

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 5.0)

People have different opinion on wether children learn better if they are placed in a class; with children of same academic abilities. While other believe that they learn better if they are exposed to children bearing variety of academic abilities.

In my opinion children tends to learn more when they are exposed to children who possess variety and diverse range of academic abilities.

For example if a child is placed in class of children who possess same abilities; he will not work hard because he will not acknowledge them as rival or competition. while if he is placed into a class where children have diverse range of academic capabilties; he will work hard because humans tend to learn more when they are exposed to competative enviornment.

Like when i was younger i went to a academy whose students were medicore and everyone was of same caliber.

When the result came i did not perfomed well; so my parents placed in one of the biggest academy of my city; where every student was hardworking and competative, by looking at them something sparked in me that they work so hard, i will do the same and i started working hard; for three months i absolutely gave my heart and i worked really hard; when the result came i got 95% which was before 78%.

So i think children can do much better if they are placed in classes with children who have diverse range of academic capabilities; they can improve much betterly and steadily

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—homogeneous versus heterogeneous academic classes—and clearly states a personal opinion in favour of mixed-ability groupings. The position is maintained throughout the response. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and lack fully developed extension, particularly in the body paragraphs which rely heavily on a single personal anecdote rather than broader societal or educational arguments. For instance, the transition from theoretical ideas to the personal example ('Like when i was younger i went to a academy...') is abrupt, and the main body points are slightly repetitive. Nevertheless, the core requirements of the task are met, corresponding to the Band 6 descriptor where all parts are addressed with relevant ideas, though some development is slightly under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a basic logical organisation with an introduction, a body paragraph, and a concluding thought, although the paragraphing is unconventional and the text is chunked into very short, disjointed blocks rather than standard essay paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often basic, repetitive, or mechanically applied, such as the frequent repetition of 'For example' and 'when the result came'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, for instance in the phrase 'by looking at them something sparked in me', where the precise antecedent connection is slightly loose. Paragraphing is not used sufficiently or appropriately to structure the argument logically, which pulls the score down into the Band 5 to 5.5 range. Overall, cohesion is faulty and mechanical, leading to a score of 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday and educational concepts such as 'academic abilities', 'diverse range', and 'competitive environment'. However, there are noticeable and frequent spelling and word-choice errors, including 'wether' instead of 'whether', 'tends' instead of 'tend', 'competative', 'enviornment', 'medicore', 'perfomed', and the non-standard adverb 'betterly'. Furthermore, attempts at less common vocabulary occasionally result in awkward collocations. Because these errors do not severely impede overall communication, but noticeably disrupt the flow and demonstrate limited control over less common lexical items, the response fits comfortably within the Band 5 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional structures ('if a child is placed...') and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the text. There are numerous punctuation and structural errors, such as improper semicolon usage ('placed in a class; with children'), missing subject-verb agreement or articles ('placed in one of the biggest academy'), and run-on structures without appropriate punctuation ('competing enviornment. Like when i was...'). Although the meaning is generally recoverable, the high frequency of errors means that error-free sentences are relatively scarce, preventing the student from achieving a Band 6. The control of grammar aligns best with Band 5 due to frequent errors that cause some difficulty for the reader.

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

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