Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-19

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)

Some idividuals are of the opinion that children learn better in classes with children of similar academic abilities. others believe that youngsters learn better when they are in clasess with children represnting a diverse range of academic abilities. This essay will discuss both believes and give my own opinion.

To begin, children are highly competitive in nature and have the ability to adapt.

Having children of similar academic abilities will limit their performances and there would not room for competition. Healthy competition brings out the best in the younger ones. For example, my nephew's first school was filled with student who were below average in their academic abilities. He was taking first position in the exams and we all knew that his academic abilities was too poor. His position in the exams made him to feel that he was doing so well untill his parents changed him to another school where the students had diverse range eof academic abilities. his position in the exams was tenth. The effect of this, was that he increased his study hours to be able to competite and challenge his peers. The new school made him to improve in his performances and new friends whose abilities were more than his were made and this brought a turn around in his academic performances

When students are from a diverse range of academic abilities, it enhances competition among them. This leads to hardwork. Being in an environment with a diverse rang of abilities enable the younger ones to acquire talents and skills from their peers whose abilities are higher their own.

In my own oipinion, children learn better when they are in classes with children representing a diverse range of academic abilities because such environment is competitive and also they are exposed to the talents that are not available in the children with similar academic abilities.It is better to be with range of abilities than to be limited in abilities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear opinion in the final paragraph, favouring mixed-ability classes, and the nephew’s experience is a relevant example that helps explain the value of challenge. However, the task asks you to discuss both views, and the case for grouping children of similar ability is not meaningfully explained. Instead, you mainly argue that such classes limit performance and competition, without considering possible benefits such as teaching at an appropriate pace. Your reasons for mixed-ability classes are also repeated rather than fully developed. To strengthen the response, explain the advantages and drawbacks of each arrangement, then connect your example directly to a balanced conclusion. The response meets the stated length requirement; the 28 words copied from the prompt are excluded from the count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has an introduction, body paragraphs and a concluding opinion, and the example is placed in a paragraph that broadly supports your position. However, the overall progression is not consistently clear: the first body paragraph begins with competition, then moves through the nephew’s school history and several outcomes in a long sequence. The next paragraph repeats the point that mixed abilities encourage competition and hard work, rather than adding a distinct development. Linking phrases such as “To begin” and “For example” help, but connections between ideas are sometimes awkward, and the conclusion largely restates earlier claims. Give each paragraph a clear purpose, use shorter steps to explain the example, and make references such as “The effect of this” precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “academic abilities,” “healthy competition,” “study hours,” and “talents and skills.” These expressions make the main ideas understandable, and the example gives you opportunities to use topic-specific language. However, the range is limited and several phrases are repeated, especially “academic abilities” and “diverse range.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, including “idividuals,” “clasess,” “believes,” and “competite,” which reduce accuracy and can distract the reader. Some combinations are unnatural, such as “his academic abilities was too poor” and “a turn around in his academic performances.” Build a wider set of accurate expressions for grouping, progress and achievement, and proofread spelling and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including the example sequence and the clause “because such environment is competitive.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “there would not room for competition” is missing a verb, while “his academic abilities was” has subject–verb disagreement. In “whose abilities are higher their own,” the comparison pattern is incomplete, and several sentences run together or use punctuation inconsistently. Capitalisation after full stops is also unreliable. Practise accurate sentence boundaries and check each clause for a complete verb, correct agreement and articles; then vary sentence structures while keeping the relationships between ideas clear.

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