Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12
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 5.0)
A section of society believe that formal learning is more important in primary schools. I am partly agree. primary school learning is important, but play time is also important in small age.
In primary school time, children learn more quickly rather than other period of time. They need to learn basic subject such as, English, reading, writing, and few basic laws and some important emergency number. More over, regular lessons teach them discipline. For example, if they learn Maths they can count or handle amount of money. they learn shopping skills as well.
On the other handside, play is also important for children. They can develop their problem solving skill and they become more creative. Play can reduces stress and prevents children from becoming bored. Team games teach sharing and communication skills. Physical games improve their fitness. For example, playing football teach them how to play in team and they know how to work in team.
In conclusion, primary school learning and play is equally important for children's. Schools need to focus on both of them, they can make small play grounds so children can play over their's and feel relax from their studies. A balance between play and study is the best approch for primary school children.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, coming in at only 208 words, which directly impacts the level of idea development. While the student attempts to address all parts of the prompt—stating a partial agreement regarding formal learning and discussing the importance of play—the ideas remain relatively superficial and under-developed. For instance, the discussion on basic subjects and play benefits relies on simple generalisations without deep extension. Due to the under-length penalty and limited development of the main ideas, the response corresponds to Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text demonstrates a clear attempt at organisation with identifiable paragraph breaks separating the introduction, formal learning, play, and conclusion. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed due to abrupt transitions and mechanical cohesive devices like 'More over' and 'On the other handside'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as in the concluding sentence where 'they can make small play grounds so children can play over their's'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, but overall cohesion is faulty, placing the response firmly in Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, with frequent reliance on everyday words such as 'important', 'learn', and 'play'. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices throughout the text, including 'I am partly agree', 'small age', 'other period of time', and 'approch'. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic message, the lack of a wider range and the presence of word-choice errors that occasionally strain comprehension limit the score to Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('play and study is equally important for children's'), capitalization errors ('More over', 'Maths'), and awkward phrasing ('Play can reduces stress'). Complex sentences are often faulty, and punctuation is occasionally neglected (e.g., missing commas and apostrophe misuse in 'over their's'). Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, a score of 5.0 is appropriate.
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.