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)

Nowadays, it is often argue that the basic level schools give too much importance on formal education. Some people believe that it is significant for childrens to play as well as learn in their class room. I personally agree with the statement because providing physical activities besides the lecture is better for their physical and mental health.

Firstly, private schools and college give priority more on formal education than outdoor activities. Moreover, they also provide pressure on students about exam or test because schools only want great score from their students. So, schools never allow to their childrens to involved or participate on sports and other activities.

Furthermore, students and learners should have access to join in extra physical activities. If students did not get chance to play games and sport, and they always busy in study, it definitely made them less active and do not boost their confident. So, it is important to provide extra curriculum activities to children by their teachers. For instance, after playing outdoor game, it helps learners to focus on their study, and keep their mind fresh and active.

In my own perspectives, I totally agree that schools or colleges only focus on study than sport games. However, games such as football, cricket, basket ball and others are more essential for childrens as well as education.

In conclusion, there is a debate about the education centres are take a lot of time on study than sports. It is true that providing playing activities as well as lectures for childrens is necessary for their growing age.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses both parts of the prompt, agreeing that formal learning is overemphasized and discussing the importance of play alongside study. A clear position is maintained throughout the response. However, the ideas lack full development and depth, leaning into sweeping generalizations, such as claiming schools 'never allow to their childrens to involved or participate on sports.' Key arguments regarding physical and mental health are stated rather than robustly explained with concrete examples. Supporting evidence is weak, relying on vague assertions rather than well-rounded illustrations. Consequently, the response aligns best with Band 6, as it addresses all parts of the task with relevant ideas, but some points remain under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is utilized, though transitions between ideas can feel a bit mechanical, relying heavily on basic cohesive markers like 'Firstly', 'Moreover', and 'Furthermore'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the use of pronouns where antecedents are ambiguous. Progression is discernible, yet the flow is occasionally disrupted by repetitive phrasing and minor structural awkwardness between sentences. This performance fits comfortably into Band 6, where the organization is logical overall, but cohesive devices are sometimes faulty or repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to communicate basic ideas on the topic, employing words like 'education', 'activities', and 'essential'. However, there are noticeable lexical and word choice inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'basic level schools' instead of primary schools, 'class room' written as two words, and 'extra curriculum activities' instead of extracurricular activities. Spelling and morphological errors, like 'childrens' and 'confident' instead of confidence, recur. Because the vocabulary range is sufficient for the task but contains frequent minor errors in word choice and form that do not completely block understanding, a Band 5.5 score is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('it is often argue', 'education centres are take'), preposition misuse ('priority more on'), and awkward verb structures ('schools never allow to their childrens to involved'). Complex structures are frequently faulty. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are pervasive enough to prevent the writing from reaching a higher band. This performance reflects the core descriptors for Band 5, characterized by frequent errors in grammar and sentence structure that cause some difficulty for the reader.

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.