Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-11

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 frequently argued that primary education in the school puts alot of effort in formal learning. due to constant lessons it can be stressfull for the childrens to coupe up which gives room tiredness and boredom without any cocricular activity.

It is important for childrean to learn and understand the education they are being provided at the school in early years but the consuming cabilities of childrens are far more less then an adult. sitiing on a bench and listeing to lectures for hour or half could complicate the understanding of perticular lecture and create consious of other things then the education itself.

During the time of learning to boost the creativity of mind and body to absorb more knowledege the play time during the class devlops more capacity for that play time is not the time that has been wasted during this time the body get a reset from the stress of study and mind gets creative about learning new things these breaks could be short or long depends on the age of perticular childrean of the class.

So i think it is important for childrean to get frequent breaks and play time during the learning sessions so they can boost there minds and body accordingly so they could be able to learn the education provided by the schools at primary level and should stop any long lectures or lessons which could result in boredom and distraction from the topic and slow there learning abilities which could be helpful for there future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the extent of agreement regarding formal learning and the importance of play. However, the development is limited. The arguments are repetitive, focusing primarily on 'boredom' and 'stress' without exploring the academic benefits of formal learning or the developmental necessity of play in depth. The position is clear, but the supporting ideas lack specific examples or nuanced reasoning, which prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. To improve, you should expand on how play specifically aids cognitive development or social skills, rather than just stating it provides a 'reset'.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The transition between ideas is often abrupt, and the use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes inaccurate (e.g., 'sitiing on a bench... could complicate the understanding'). The referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow of ideas feels somewhat disjointed. While there is a basic structure, the lack of sophisticated linking words makes the argument feel like a series of loosely connected statements rather than a cohesive, well-argued piece of writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is basic and repetitive. There are frequent spelling errors (e.g., 'alot', 'stressfull', 'childrean', 'sitiing', 'listeing', 'perticular', 'knowledege', 'devlops'). The range of vocabulary is limited, relying on simple terms like 'good', 'bad', or 'important'. To reach a higher band, you need to use a wider range of academic vocabulary and ensure correct spelling. Phrases like 'consuming cabilities' are awkward and indicate a lack of precision in word choice. Focus on learning collocations and more sophisticated synonyms for common words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. There are issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the consuming cabilities of childrens are far more less then an adult'), incorrect word forms, and punctuation errors. Sentence structures are mostly simple or contain errors when attempting complexity. For instance, the final paragraph is one long, run-on sentence that lacks proper punctuation. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and the correct use of articles and prepositions before attempting more complex structures.

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

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