Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-24
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)
Many people think that schooling is focus only on academics while some believe that it is important to provide other activities like sports and games.Although academic plays a significant role in student life but engaging childrens with other activities also essential for their mental well-beng.This essay will discuss both points and give my point of view on that.
There are many reasons why schooling focus on primary eduction because it would develop the skills in students from basic level. For Example if schools teach students in advanced level without telling them simple rules then it cause difficulty for understaning of subjects.Another main reason understanding of simple things in initial stage make children capable of tackle any issue in life without making them complex.To clarify, it become easy for them to manage thing in easiest way instead of making them complex.
Secondly, I also agree by having many other activities in school level is also important for focusing on studies. Because one reason is that it makes children mind more active, focused and engaging. For Example those students who always doing study they get bored and sometime they never give their full focus to their studies.Moreover, they loss their interest in studies.It is necessary to have another engaging activities for children to make their mind sharp and active because it build encouragement in them for studies.
To conclude, I believe that formal education and other activites both are important for students because these two things give them mental resilience and sharpen their focus. They are able to tackle any issue in life and become successful in their life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the role of formal learning in primary schools and the importance of play and other activities. A position is presented throughout the essay, and main ideas are introduced, such as the need for basic skill development and the mental benefits of recreational breaks. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the explanation of how simple rules prevent difficulty in advanced learning is vague and lacks concrete examples. Furthermore, the phrasing 'this essay will discuss both points and give my point of view' is a template approach that does not fully align with the actual two-part prompt. Overall, the task is addressed with relevant ideas, placing the response at a Band 6.0 level for Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay is arranged into four paragraphs with a clear overall plan and a logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and conclusion. Basic cohesive devices are used, such as 'Secondly', 'For Example', and 'To conclude'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the sentence transitions rely on repetitive and simplistic connectors like 'Because one reason is that...' and 'Moreover, they loss their interest'. Paragraphing is present, but the internal logical flow within paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by awkward transitions and repetitive sentence structures. Therefore, the coherence and cohesion aspects align closely with the descriptors for Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'academic', 'mental resilience', 'formal education', and 'resilience'. However, there are numerous lexical and spelling errors that detract from the overall quality, including 'focus' instead of 'focused' ('schooling is focus only'), 'childrens' instead of 'children', 'well-beng' instead of 'well-being', 'eduction' instead of 'education', 'understaning', 'tackle', and 'loss' instead of 'lose'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they reflect a lack of precision and lower the lexical profile of the response, justifying a Band 5.5 score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional clauses ('if schools teach students in advanced level without telling them simple rules then it cause difficulty') and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the text. There are frequent errors in verb forms, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions, including 'schooling is focus only', 'academic plays', 'it cause difficulty', 'understanding of simple things in initial stage make children', and 'having many other activities in school level is also important'. Additionally, punctuation is occasionally neglected. Because errors occur frequently and sometimes cause slight strain for the reader, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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