Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-02

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 argued by individuals that it is essential for primary students to play in classrooms as well as learn. I completely agree with this statement because it overall reduces the academic pressure and also finds beneficial for enhancing the cognitive behaviour in students that provides benefits at higher education levels also.

First of all, it is very important for children to play in classroom because it overcomes the stress regarding studies. For example, a child who studies in the strict environment of classroom is always taking the pressure of books and lectures, whereas a student who enjoy or make contact with other class fellows during classroom is able to relax their mind. Therefore, a relaxing child is able to focus more on studies and achieves the good grades.

Furthermore, it also brings the happiness and good communication skills. This is because early age students can learn things very well and if they do not build this co-ordination ability at primary education level, so at higher level lot of things come such as anxiety. Due to this, a lot of cases are seeing which leads to death. That's why, by doing activities in the lecture room freshens the brain which helps them in their further studies.

In conclusion, for primary students it is good to play in the classroom alongside with learning. It helps in lowering the pressure or relaxing the mind during lecture, due to which students can gain good grades and learn well. Moreover, it also build the things such as communication, which is very important for higher studies

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the extent of agreement and the importance of play. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument linking a lack of play to 'cases... which leads to death' is an extreme and unsupported generalization that lacks logical grounding. While the main points regarding stress reduction and communication skills are relevant, they could be extended with more specific examples or nuanced explanations to reach a higher band. The response stays on topic, but the depth of analysis is inconsistent.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used to signal the progression of ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'This is because early age students can learn things very well'. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the overall progression of ideas feels somewhat repetitive in the final paragraph.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their opinion clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'cognitive behaviour', 'co-ordination', and 'academic pressure'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'a relaxing child' (should be 'a relaxed child') and 'make contact with other class fellows' (should be 'interact with peers'). The range of vocabulary is sufficient to communicate, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with article usage ('in the strict environment of classroom'), subject-verb agreement ('a student who enjoy'), and awkward phrasing ('a lot of cases are seeing'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels repetitive. The errors do not significantly impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching the 7.0 band.

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

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