Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-27

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 6.5)

In this contemporary society, playing and learning go hand in hand. It is often argued that schools should focus merely on traditional formal education, while others believe schools, more importantly primary schools, should encourage students to participate in play as well as other extra curricular activities. I strongly disagree with the view of giving too much attention to education because it discourages the cognitive development of children.

There are few reasons why people believe children should only be involved in learning from books. Firstly, this is due to the lack of information about kids' psychology and emotions. Most illiterate people are unable to understand the importance of play as they consider it a waste of time. They enroll their children in schools that pay attention to studies only. Secondy, some people believe that play and extracurricular pursuits may divert their minds from studies. As a result, they restrict the activities of students.

Having said that, many people have understand the need and importance of play. Scientific evidence illustrates that playing is necessary for cognitive development and social interaction. Many schools have introduced different methods of teaching that give a greater chance to students to play while learning. For instance, schools are teaching toddlers different concepts of maths where they can use different tricky methods to solve questions. As a result, children learn the useful mathematical skills while having fun.

In my opinion, although formal education let students focus on studies, the complete removal of extra pursuits and fun would retard the mental capacity of students and make them bookworms. Play is useful as it teaches useful skills including turn taking, collaboration, patience and persistence.

All things considered, although focusing on formal education can give students theoretical knowledge and an uninterrupted track, playing not only broadens students' horizons but also helps them gain long-term experiences including cooperation, perseverance, and confidence. The advantages of incorporating play in primary education outweigh its removal altogether.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the two-part question by clearly stating a position on the extent of formal learning focus and discussing the importance of play in primary schools. The writer provides relevant arguments and examples, such as mathematical concepts taught through fun methods and social skills developed during play. However, some ideas are slightly general, and the first body paragraph digresses into discussing illiterate people rather than focusing strictly on the educational rationale against play, which keeps the response at a Band 6.5 to 7.0 level. Overall, the main tenets of the task are adequately covered with a clear position maintained throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, distinct body paragraphs addressing opposing and supporting views, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Having said that', 'For instance', and 'In my opinion' are used to guide the reader through the text. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical or formulaic, such as 'There are few reasons why...' and 'All things considered, although...'. Paragraphing is handled well, ensuring each paragraph has a central topic, resulting in a solid logical progression overall.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully employing terms such as 'contemporary society', 'cognitive development', 'extracurricular pursuits', and 'interrupted track'. There are occasional slight inaccuracies or awkward collocations, such as writing 'many people have understand' (grammar/form issue) and 'retard the mental capacity'. Nevertheless, less common items are attempted with reasonable success, and spelling is generally accurate throughout the essay, meeting the criteria for a Band 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and participial clauses (e.g., 'Scientific evidence illustrates that playing is necessary...', 'Playing is useful as it teaches useful skills including turn taking...'). While there are frequent error-free sentences, a few grammatical slips occur, notably 'many people have understand' and 'formal education let students' instead of 'lets'. Punctuation is generally sound, and the errors do not impede communication, placing the response comfortably within the Band 6.5/7.0 range.

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.