Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-30

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 5.0)

Some people argue that primary schools focus too much on formal learning as compared to play and joy.

Formal learning is very important in primary schools because primary school is a base of every student. There are many schools in the world which deeply focuses on formal learning of students especially in Asian region. In many countries like Pakistan ,India, Bangladesh there are many people who thinks that play is not very important for their child. It spoils their child and behavior. If any primary school in this region held any sport

activity and any other coo-circular activity they don't allows their child to participate in such activities. They continuously pressurize their child to study.

On the other In European countries like Germany, France, Italy etc. They allot special time for the play. They have special coo-circular activities which are specially designed for their students. These activities play a crucial role in development their child brain and body. Their parents encourage their child to participate in such activities. In USA there primary schools designs special summer camp for their students. Which focuses on both formal learning and play. Primary schools in this region work especially in character development of their students.

There are many people in the world who thinks that such activities and play are important for their child. And in such cases the ratio of their child success is more are compared to those child who never participate in such activities and play.

At the end I only say that play is very important for the students

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the two-part prompt by discussing formal learning versus play and providing a viewpoint. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies heavily on broad generalisations about regions, such as stating that in countries like Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, 'they don't allows their child to participate in such activities.' While a position is presented, the argumentation remains underdeveloped, particularly in the conclusion which abruptly ends with 'At the end I only say that play is very important for the students.' This places the response in Band 5, as the ideas are limited and under-developed, and the task is addressed only partially in terms of depth and support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text is organized into paragraphs, separating the introduction, the view on Asian countries, the view on European countries and the USA, and the conclusion. However, the logical progression is hindered by abrupt transitions and a lack of cohesive devices. For instance, the paragraph starting with 'On the other In European countries' contains a grammatical error in the transitional phrase. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the pronoun use in 'Which focuses on both formal learning and play' following a fragment. Paragraphing is attempted, but overall cohesion is faulty and mechanical, aligning with the Band 5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, with frequent reliance on simple words like 'child', 'play', 'school', and 'activities'. There are noticeable word-form and spelling errors throughout, such as 'coo-circular' instead of 'co-curricular', 'development their child brain' instead of 'developing their child's brain', and 'ratio of their child success' instead of 'rate of success'. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic topic, the limitations and errors cause some difficulty for the reader, fitting the Band 5 criteria.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('There are many schools... which deeply focuses', 'there are many people who thinks', 'they don't allows'), punctuation issues, and sentence fragments (e.g., 'Which focuses on both formal learning and play.'). The range of structures is limited, and attempts at complex sentences frequently result in errors that can cause difficulty for the reader, corresponding to a Band 5 score.

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