Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-03

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)

In contemporary society, education has become a widely debated issue. While few individuals think that primary institutes should concentrate majorly on formal learning, I strongly agree with this view as it enhances both confidence and competent skills. Despite this, playing and learning both hand in hand offer far greater advantages for youngsters.

To commence with, a compelling reason supporting my view point is that formal learning helps to children to boost their confidence and make them more competitive leader in the future. Moreover, when learners learn formally, they become more capble of encountring significant challenges in the career. For example, those students who are teached with proper shedule are more equipped to perform extraordinary in their profession. This method clearly illustrates that how well disciplined education system can impact positively on education. Consequently, a large number of youngsters can drive a substantial benefits from this approach.

One the other hand, it is also pivotal that children should be allow to paly game in schools along with education. A popular believe is that sports play a impostant role in our lives both mentally and physically. Furthermore, paying games in schools along with study enhance the capability of children to perform very well in study. For example, those children who are allowed to play with study are more likely to get more marks in their exams. This is primarily because sports make us active and improve our mental health.

To conclude, in modern society primarily schools should focused significantly on formal learning as it has advantages in terms of confidentiality and comepetition. Moreover, I believe that it is very crucial approach for children to play and study collectively in their schools. This should be actively promoted.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the role of formal learning in primary schools and the importance of play. However, the treatment of the ideas remains somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, the argument that formal learning boosts confidence and leadership is stated rather than thoroughly extended with robust explanation or compelling examples. Furthermore, the phrasing in the introduction regarding agreeing with formal learning while simultaneously noting that play offers far greater advantages introduces a slight contradiction in the stance, making the position not fully clear throughout. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to ensure that every main idea is fully explained and supported with well-developed, coherent reasoning throughout all body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear structure divided into an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the distinct prompts of the task. However, the cohesion between and within sentences is sometimes mechanical or faulty. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'One the other hand', and 'To conclude' are employed, but referencing and logical progression occasionally falter, as seen in abrupt transitions between ideas within the body paragraphs. To achieve a higher score, the writer should aim for smoother, more natural transitions between sentences and ensure that referencing pronouns are consistently clear and precise throughout the entire text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'contemporary society', 'compelling reason', and 'pivotal'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors in word choice, word form, and spelling throughout the response, such as 'primary institutes' instead of 'institutions', 'capble' and 'encountring', 'teached' instead of 'taught', 'shedule', 'believe' instead of 'belief', and 'impostant'. These errors indicate a limited lexical range with frequent inaccuracies. While communication is not entirely impeded, the vocabulary control needs to become significantly more accurate and varied to reach a higher band level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some attempt at complex structures such as subordinate clauses ('when learners learn formally, they become...'). However, there is a limited range of structures overall, and attempts at complex sentences frequently contain grammatical errors. Examples include 'helps to children to boost', 'impact positively on education', 'children should be allow to paly game', and 'primarily schools should focused significantly'. These errors in verb forms, infinitives, passive voice construction, and word endings occur with some frequency, though they rarely impede overall communication. To improve, the writer must exercise better control over basic grammatical patterns and verb agreements.

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.