Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01
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 believe that primary schools place excessive attention on academic learning. This essay will discuss whether this is the case and examine the importance to play as well as learn in classrooms. I largely agree with the fact that the children in primary nursery should focus on entertaining the kid as well as teaching.
Primary schools put a lot burden on young children by formal learning. They may have several hours of classrooms lessons than some fun or enjoyable activities for young students. For example, children might spend most of times studying subjects such as mathematics and science than performing any activity. As a result, they get exhausted quickly and end up losing interest in learning.
Playing and doing fun activities act as an important role for children in primary education. It allows children to develop social and communication skills while doing such activities. At young age, children learns the most from their surroundings and environment they get. For instance, a child not only learns to communicate but also learns to coorporate with his classmates during a game or performing a group task.Therefore, adding playing with learning young children develop set of skills which helps them in their further life.
In conclusion, I agree that it is very essential for a child to play while learn as well. Although the formal learning is important, however, playing is equally important as learning mainly becasue it has multiple benefits. It is very helpfull for a child's overall development and preparing him for ahead.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, acknowledging the debate surrounding formal learning and explaining the importance of play alongside study. However, the development of ideas is uneven. While the second and third body paragraphs offer relevant points about exhaustion and social skills, some arguments are left somewhat general or repetitive, such as the statement that children get exhausted quickly. The position is clear throughout, but deeper elaboration with more precise examples would be needed to fully satisfy higher criteria.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct points, such as the burden of formal learning and the benefits of play. Cohesive devices are present, including transitions like 'For example' and 'As a result', but referencing and linking can occasionally feel mechanical or slightly repetitive, preventing a smoother and more natural progression of ideas.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the main ideas with a basic range of terms related to education. There are noticeable lexical errors, such as 'primary nursery', 'play as well as learn', and spelling or word form inaccuracies like 'coorporate', 'helpfull', and 'becasue'. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score due to limitations in precision and word choice.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like conditional or result clauses ('As a result, they get exhausted quickly'). There are some errors in grammar, such as missing articles ('at young age'), prepositions ('act as an important role'), and subject-verb agreement or tense consistency in dependent clauses ('while learn as well'). However, these errors occur alongside correct structures and rarely impede overall communication.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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