Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-14

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people argue that primary schools focus too much on formal learning.

To what extent do you agree with this opinion?

How important do you think it is for children to play as well as learn in the primary school classroom?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

It is important for children to play as well as learn in the primary school classroom. Childhood is the most important time of everyones life and it never comes back. The curiosity of doing and gaining knowledge of things is at the pick of in this period of life. They can learn from playing methods also. If we give them only learning things and increase burden on them it will affect there physical as well as mental health.

In childhood childs learns things faster. Primary school classrooms are to be designed according to the comfort of the childrens. The children don't to have to be burdened about study or worry about things in the small age. Parents also have to spend more time with childrens in there childhood, the childrens asks different type of questions or curiosity. They learn what we taught to them.

For example we can see the difference between the local urban area children with no burden living life without worry and enjoying his childhood to home, on the other side a developed city children who is going to primary school daily and focus only study.

The both children are from different environment and different lifestyles.The urban area children is active in outdoor activities and his physical strength is increasing but he is not focusing on normal learning also which is hard to him in future, when he went to school after some time he faces sudden burden of study. On the other side city children is only focusing upon studing and it will effect its childhood, his mental health is ready for school but he skipped the enjoyment of childhood.

So, both childhood enjoyment with some study have to be managed in that way they don't face any difficulity in future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You clearly support combining play with learning, and you explain relevant reasons, including children’s physical and mental health and the risk of facing a sudden study burden later. The comparison between a child who enjoys outdoor activities and one who focuses only on study also gives the response a relevant example. However, the position on whether primary schools focus too much on formal learning is not stated clearly or consistently; the opening says play is important, but does not directly assess the extent of agreement. Several ideas, such as the role of parents and the contrast between the two children, are difficult to interpret or remain under-developed. State your degree of agreement directly, then explain and support each main point more precisely. The response meets the task’s length requirement; 13 words copied from the prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure: it introduces the importance of play, develops points about childhood and learning, gives an example, and ends with a recommendation. Linking expressions such as “For example,” “On the other side,” and “So” help show some relationships between ideas. However, progression is not always clear. The comparison in the example shifts between “local urban area” and “developed city” children without explaining the distinction, and the final paragraph repeats the contrast rather than drawing out its implications. Some references, including “they” and “it,” are unclear. Organise the body around two distinct reasons, use clearer references, and make each paragraph’s main point explicit to improve the overall flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the general message, including “curiosity,” “physical strength,” “mental health,” and “outdoor activities.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are noticeably inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning harder to follow. Examples include “at the pick of” for a child’s peak period, “burdened about study,” and “focus only study.” There are also spelling and word-form errors such as “difficulity” and “studing.” Aim to learn natural phrases for discussing education and child development, and check spelling and collocations during revision. More precise vocabulary would make the comparison and your position easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer structures, for example, “If we give them only learning things … it will affect…” and the sentences comparing the two children. However, the range remains limited, and errors occur frequently in sentence construction, agreement, verb forms, and articles. Examples include “In childhood childs learns,” “The children don't to have to be burdened,” and “The urban area children is active.” Some sentences also combine ideas without clear grammatical links, as in the long comparison beginning “The both children are from different environment.” Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, plural forms, and complete sentence patterns. Breaking long sentences into shorter units and proofreading each clause would improve clarity.

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.