Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18

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)

It is often argued that primary schools focus too much on formal learning, while some believe the otherwise. I strongly agree that schools focus on formal learning too much because children from a young age start to learn new things by experiencing them and just formal learning limits a student from getting different experiences.

The primary reason why I agree is that just focusing on formal learning restricts children in their primary school's age as they tend to learn or develop new hobbies and activities in this age. This is because children are curious as they learn new things almost everyday from various events. For example, if a young student is limited just to formal learning with limited exposure to extracurricular activities in his school then he will fail to learn and gain different experiences. Therefore, the students get limited exposure without them knowing just because of to much focus on formal learning in primary schools.

A further reason is that students will have less skills overall which an individual should learn in his primary school. In particular students will miss essential skills such as; teamwork, leadership and confidence which should be learned at a young age. For instance, if a student has no experience in a teamed sport or leadership role then he will lack the basic skills required for his practical and professional life ahead, just because primary schools focusing more on formal learning. As a result people find to difficult to find a suitable job as they miss the important skills required to work in a professional environment.

In conclusion, I strongly agree that primary schools focus more formal learning because children need different activities to learn and nowadays people lack those essential skills that are required in their professional life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the two-part prompt, taking a clear and consistent position that primary schools focus too much on formal learning at the expense of play and practical experiences. The main ideas, such as restricting children's natural curiosity and missing out on vital interpersonal skills like leadership and teamwork, are relevant and extended. However, some arguments feel repetitive, notably the recurring mention of professional life in both the second and third body paragraphs. Furthermore, examples tend to be somewhat generalised rather than fully fleshed out with specific instances. Consequently, the response sits comfortably within Band 6.5 to Band 7.0 for Task Achievement, meeting the requirements for a clear position and developed ideas while displaying mild tendencies towards over-generalisation and slight repetitiveness.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organised with a clear overarching progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each body paragraph focusing on a distinct sub-theme (curiosity and development vs. essential soft skills). Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as "The primary reason why I agree" and "A further reason is that". However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and some cohesive links feel mechanical or slightly awkward, such as starting a sentence with "This is because children are curious as they learn new things almost everyday..." Furthermore, the transition in the conclusion "more formal learning" contains a grammatical omission ("more formal learning" instead of "more on formal learning"). Overall, the logical flow is clear, matching the Band 6.5 to Band 7 descriptor range well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as "extracurricular activities", "interpersonal", and "professional environment". However, there are noticeable limitations in precision and word choice, including repetitive phrasing ("formal learning", "essential skills", "primary schools") and minor collocation errors like "primary school's age" instead of "early childhood" or "primary school age", and "miss skills overall" instead of "lack overall skills". Spelling is generally accurate, but vocabulary choice remains fairly standard rather than sophisticated. This profile aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor, where the range is adequate for the task and communication is not impeded despite some recurrent inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, utilising conditional structures ("if a young student is limited...") and relative clauses. However, control over complex grammar is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors and awkward prepositions, such as "while some believe the otherwise" (incorrect article), "primary school's age", "because of to much focus" (spelling/form error), and "people find to difficult" (incorrect particle). Additionally, missing prepositions and clunky phrasing occur throughout, such as "focus more formal learning". While the majority of simple sentences are clear and communication is not impeded, the frequent minor errors in complex structures restrict the score to Band 6.0.

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

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