Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-29

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 6.0)

Many people believe that primary schools put a lot more emphasis towards academic learning rather then a playful development. I largely agree with the statement and believe that in the foundation years of children, equal focus should be given to the extracurriculars and the formal learning. More reasons for my agreement are discussed in the following paragraphs.

For children to grow, they are not just required to study basic subjects, but are also to gain insights from the outdoors. First and foremost, the playfield teaches children qualities that have importance and value in real life. For instance qualities like camaraderie, leadership, ownership, communication skills etc. These skills make them ready for the upcoming world and build their character. Some of these may never develop in a classroom. Apart from this, inculcating the importance of physical activities in the foundation years leads to the importance of qualities like fitness, discipline and nature in their life.

Furthermore, true friends are made on the ground. When young kids face difficult situations on the pitch they learn how to tackle it and navigate through it along with support. These friends that act as pillars of support soon go on to become lifelong companions. However, the teachings taking place in a classroom are very essential in budding years as they help them lay down a path for the upcoming studies, but it is on the field where the real implementation of these learnings happen.

In conclusion, learning subjects in the classroom is one of the most significant aspects during primary schooling, but it should not overshadow the playful and on-field learnings in the school. In my opinion, when provided with a balanced outlook towards classroom education and outdoor development, would lead to a prospering growth in the children’s primary education

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: it clearly states a position on the focus of primary schools and discusses the importance of play. The ideas are relevant, such as the development of 'camaraderie' and 'leadership' through sports. However, the development is somewhat limited; while the points are clear, they could be extended with more specific examples or deeper analysis of how these skills translate to academic success. The conclusion is a bit repetitive, and the final sentence is grammatically incomplete, which slightly affects the overall impact of the argument. Overall, the response is well-focused and maintains a consistent position throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, such as the benefits of outdoor play and the role of social development. Cohesive devices like 'First and foremost', 'Apart from this', and 'Furthermore' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, the transition between the importance of play and the necessity of classroom learning in the third paragraph is slightly abrupt. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and the progression of ideas is generally smooth, though some sentences could be linked more fluidly to enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. The student uses some good collocations and topic-specific terms such as 'foundation years', 'extracurriculars', 'camaraderie', and 'inculcating'. There are minor errors in word choice, such as 'playful development' (which sounds slightly unnatural) and 'upcoming world' (instead of 'future world' or 'real world'). The range is adequate to convey ideas clearly, but there is limited use of less common or idiomatic language that would be required for a higher band score. The spelling is accurate throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'put a lot more emphasis towards' (should be 'on'), 'rather then' (should be 'than'), and the final sentence is a sentence fragment ('...would lead to a prospering growth...'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. The use of punctuation is generally correct, but the control over complex sentence structures is inconsistent. More attention to subject-verb agreement and preposition usage would improve the accuracy significantly.

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

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