Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29

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)

Some people belive that primary schools focus too much on formal learning. I partly agree with this view because academic education is important for childerns, but i also belive that playb should be essential part of primary education.

On the one hand, there are several reasons why some peolpe support the view that formal learning is necessary because primary schools provides childern with basic knowledge and skills. The main reason is that subject such as readind, writing and mathematics help childern develop a strong foundation for their future education. For example, a child who learns basic mathematics at an early will find more advanced subjects easier later in life. Therefore, schools cannot ignore academic learning.

On the other hand, it is also argued that childern shoud not spend all time sitting in the classroom and studying. Plating is exteremly important for physical , social and emotional health. Through games, childern can learn how to communicate with others, who to connect with others and they also become more active. For instance, group games can teachs childern how to share, follow rules and solves problems together. Furthermore, play can make learning enjoyable and reduce the stress caused by too much academic work.

In conclusion, both sides have reasonable points. Formal learning is essential in primary schools, but giving enough time to play is equally important. In my opinion, schools should maintain a healthy balance between play and formal education as well as their overall development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by both discussing the extent of agreement regarding formal learning and explaining the importance of play in primary schools. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the task achievement is impacted by the length requirement: the student's response contains 243 words, which fails to meet the minimum requirement of 250 words. While the ideas are relevant, such as mentioning subjects like reading and writing alongside physical and emotional health benefits of playing, some arguments are slightly repetitive and under-developed due to the constrained word count. The candidate demonstrates a solid understanding of the prompt but is penalised for falling short of the required word count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a clear overall organisation with a traditional four-paragraph structure comprising an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Logical sequencing is present, with clear signaling phrases such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' used to contrast viewpoints. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or slightly faulty, as seen in the phrase 'an early' missing a noun in the second paragraph ('early age'). Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, but referencing is occasionally unclear or repetitive, which prevents the essay from reaching a higher band in coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'foundational knowledge', 'emotional health', and 'maintain a healthy balance'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'belive' instead of 'believe', 'childerns' instead of 'children', 'playb' instead of 'play', and 'Plating' instead of 'Playing'. Furthermore, grammatical inflections like 'teachs' and 'solves' reveal slips in word form. These inaccuracies do not impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over multi-clause structures such as conditional-style ideas and concession clauses ('Although...', 'For example, a child who learns...'). However, there are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors, including capitalization mistakes ('i', 'childerns', 'peolpe'), missing articles, and subject-verb agreement issues ('subject such as readind' instead of 'subjects such as reading', 'group games can teachs' instead of 'group games can teach'). While communication is rarely impeded, the density of these errors keeps the grammatical accuracy at a Band 5.5 level.

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