Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-22

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)

Numerous persons debate that primary schools only pay attention on the curriculum and designed syllabus. From my perspective extra-curricular activities should introduce in primary shools for kids. I am in favour that playing activities should designed for students of primary classes.

School is place from where a person can learn discipline and build its personality. First of all, at primary level when a child get admission in school he wants fun and playing activities along with studies but if the schools only teach the formal syllabus this scenario will create boring enviornment for children. They think that school is just for study and no activities at all. This perspective will grow in their mind and they will not enjoy the studies.

On the other hand, if school introduce gaming periods and other fun activities for primary learners, this will refresh their minds and they learn and study effectively. Extra-curriccular activities boost the capabilities of students and they participate actively in games and learning programs also. This strategy helps alot to maintain the interest of students in formal learning. Their progress in designed curriculum and learning new things will also improve. For primary students, different fun activities could be designed that also help in learning, by showing multiple actions like sit, stand, sad, happy a child learn different action words and use these words in everyday life.

To sum up, learn school designed syllabus along with extra fun classes energize the learners and boost up their capacity of learning. Moreover, they will be more focused on studies after refreshing their brains.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: agreeing with the notion that primary schools focus too much on formal learning, and discussing the importance of play alongside learning. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are extended with relevant explanations, such as how introducing gaming periods can refresh students' minds and prevent boredom. However, the development remains somewhat general and repetitive in places. For instance, the example regarding action words like 'sit, stand, sad, happy' is a bit simplistic and lacks further elaboration. Despite these minor limitations in depth, all parts of the prompt are adequately covered, corresponding well to the Band 6 descriptor criteria for addressing all parts with relevant ideas, though some are under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas. Paragraphing is utilised, separating the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion appropriately. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes faulty, mechanical, or awkward. For instance, transitional phrases like 'First of all' and 'On the other hand' are used, but referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'build its personality' where pronoun agreement is weak. Additionally, repetition of phrases like 'designed syllabus' and 'formal learning' disrupts the smooth flow of ideas. While the overall structure is clear enough to follow without difficulty, the mechanical nature of the cohesive ties and occasional referencing errors place this text firmly at a Band 6 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common terms such as 'extra-curricular activities', 'capabilities', and 'environment' (spelled 'enviornment'). However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout the response, such as 'pay attention on' instead of 'pay attention to', 'introduce in primary shools' instead of 'be introduced in primary schools', and 'learn school designed syllabus' instead of 'learning the school's designed syllabus'. Spelling mistakes like 'enviornment' and 'curriccular' also occur. These errors do not impede communication since the writer's meaning remains clear, fitting the Band 6 descriptor where an adequate range is shown alongside some inaccuracy and spelling slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. For example, conditional-like structures are attempted ('if the schools only teach... this scenario will create...'). However, grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies, missing prepositions, and faulty subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'a child get admission', 'when a child... he wants', 'extra-curricular activities should introduce'). Furthermore, punctuation is occasionally neglected. Although these errors are noticeable and require the reader to occasionally re-read parts of the text, they rarely impede overall communication. This performance aligns with Band 5, as attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty and errors cause some difficulty, though communication is maintained.

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

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