Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-24

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many parts of the world girls and boys are educated together in co-educational or mixed schools. Some people think that girls and boys benefit from being educated separately in single-sex schools. To what extent do you agree with this view?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience. Write at least 250 words.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In various parts of the world, girls and boys are educated together in co-educational schools. While some argue that they would benefit from being educated separately, I believe that co-ed schools provide the opportunity to co-exist with opposite gender and develops your interpersonal skills.

Studying in a co-education school could significantly benefit a child when it comes to dealing people in future. When a juvenile is in its teenage stage, they ought to have low self esteem and struggle to talk to people. While studying and co-existing in a gender equality institute, this can boost morale values and confidence in a child. For instance, a child who has studied in a separate gender school often struggles to talk and interact with the opposite gender growing up.

However, some people have a different perspective on this. People suggest that studying in a single-sex school makes a child focus and concentrate more on their studies. Nevertheless, co-ed school provides the exposure of interaction with opposite gender, it can distract teenagers from their studies. Girls and boys in a co-ed school could form a relationship and crushes which could distract them from their career goals. In this ripe age of adolescence, kids believe that the decisions they take are right, instead of thinking what detrimental effects it could have on their future.

From my perspective, kids upbringing matters and not the school they are studying in. A child from a single-sex school might talk to other gender on social media apps as they don't have exposure to such experience. I think interacting to opposite gender in an early age reduces the fear of talking to people growing up.

In conclusion, education is important no matter the school is co-ed or single-sex, what matters is the upbringing. Although, co-ed schools does have the ability to distract teenagers, it could turn out to be beneficial if seen from a different perspective.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the benefits of co-educational schools and the counter-arguments supporting single-sex education, ultimately presenting a clear personal position regarding upbringing and early socialisation. The ideas are generally relevant and extended, such as the discussion on teenagers developing interpersonal skills and overcoming self-esteem issues. However, some arguments tend to generalise or remain slightly under-developed, particularly the references to distractions and adolescent relationships, which place this response firmly in Band 6.0 according to the criteria.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing both sides of the issue, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, with transitional errors such as 'Nevertheless, co-ed school provides...' where a subordinating conjunction or contrast marker is misused. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as the vague pronoun use in 'when a juvenile is in its teenage stage'. These issues are characteristic of a Band 6 performance.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'interpersonal skills', 'self-esteem', 'adolescence', and 'detrimental effects'. However, there are notable word-choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'gender equality institute' instead of 'co-educational school', 'separate gender school' instead of 'single-sex school', and 'interacting to opposite gender' instead of 'interacting with the opposite gender'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they restrict the lexical score to a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout, such as 'dealing people in future', 'a juvenile is in its teenage stage, they ought to have low self esteem', and 'kids upbringing matters'. Punctuation and article use also show lapses. Because these errors occur regularly alongside a mix of structures without entirely obscuring meaning, the grammar warrants a Band 6.

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