Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17

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)

Learning in the early ages of school decides how much your life will be balanced. Some people think that primary schools enforce vigorous formal learning, while others argue that too much formal learning is not beneficial for the children. However, I strongly agree with the notion because formal learning introduces discipline and consistency in the professional life.

To commence with, children in their early ages of education, learn naturally which they observe in their circle. Formal learning helps children to perform better in the tasks during classroom as well as in their future endeavours. They follow a regular pattern of learning like schools timings, classroom and play area rules and how to deal with people around them. Thus, this provides them a discipline in life along with its importance in coming future.

Furthermore, formal learning motivates children towards their career goals. When they manage their daily challenges with accuracy and precision, it gives them a strength to tackle with the all kind of problems in their daily life. Consistency become a prt of their life. However, foundational literacy and numeracy are still essential at this age.

Play is not a distraction from learning but a powerful method of learning itself, developing social skills, problem-solving, and emotional regulation.

In the conclusion, formal way of learning is much healthy and better for a bright future as it brings more regualrity in someones's life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the role of formal learning and briefly touching upon play. However, it fails to meet the minimum word count requirement, coming in at 231 words instead of the required 250 words. Furthermore, the two-part question is addressed somewhat superficially. While the writer agrees that primary schools focus on formal learning and argues that it introduces discipline, the second part of the prompt regarding the importance of play is only addressed in a single isolated sentence and a brief concluding remark, lacking adequate development and support. Because the task is under-length and parts of the prompt are underdeveloped, this restricts the score to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay displays some organizational structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing an attempt at a logical progression of ideas. However, paragraphing is somewhat erratic, with single-sentence paragraphs such as 'Play is not a distraction...' disrupting the flow. Cohesive devices are used, but they are sometimes mechanical or awkwardly deployed, as seen in 'To commence with' and 'In the conclusion'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the overall progression lacks smooth transitions between the conflicting ideas of formal learning and play. These issues place the response firmly in the Band 5.0 category for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'vigorous formal learning', 'foundational literacy', and 'emotional regulation'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word form, including 'in the early ages' instead of 'at an early age', 'give them a strength to tackle with the all kind of problems' containing grammatical and lexical clutter, and 'regualrity' which is a typo. Additionally, 'prt' appears instead of 'part'. These lexical errors and limitations place the response at Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'Learning in the early ages of school decides how much your life will be balanced.' However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in article usage, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'Consistency become a prt of their life' and 'formal way of learning is much healthy'. Word order and phrase structures occasionally falter, for instance, 'tackle with the all kind of problems'. Because attempts at complex structures are often faulty and errors occur frequently throughout the text, a band score of 5.0 is appropriate.

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

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