Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-23

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In some cultures, children are often told that they can achieve anything if they try hard enough. What are the advantages and disadvantages of giving children this message?

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Children in different cultural backgrounds are prescribed that trying something at full potential could get them anything. There are several pros and cons of of this belief which will be discussed in this essay.

To begin with, one of the major advantage is the mindset. If children are taught that everything is possible in life, then they would not hesitate to put in the effort. This would increase their confidence and they would not worry about the failures. Secondly, children would witness a decrease in laziness. When they are encouraged to devote more time and effort in a certain task, they would spend less time in leisure activities like watching TV or playing video games. As a result, they would become more productive which would benefit them in professional settings in the future as well. For example, a child who rarely gets engaged in the activities like playing mobile games and watching movies would probably accomplish a number of things in comparison to other kids.

Despite its several advantages, a child could experience excessive mental pressure. When children are explained that working hard would guarantee the success, then they would feel pressurized to achieve the desired outcomes. Consequently, they would be compared with other kids when they don't secure the expected result which would make them feel weak and it might result in anxiety or depression. For example, a primary school child would be mentally exhausted after hearing the comparisons with his peers who scored higher grades than him.

In conclusion, children would be able to engineer a strong mindset and their confidence would boost as a result of the teachings related to hard work. However, a child could feel an increased amount of mental pressure when it would be unsuccessful in a particular activity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The essay addresses both the advantages and disadvantages of the prompt. The position is clear throughout, and the ideas are generally well-developed. For instance, the discussion on the 'mindset' advantage and the 'mental pressure' disadvantage provides a balanced view. However, some points could be more deeply explored; for example, the link between hard work and professional success is a bit generic. The response covers all parts of the task well, though the development of ideas occasionally leans towards over-generalisation, which is typical of a Band 7 response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Secondly', 'As a result', and 'Despite its several advantages' are used effectively to guide the reader. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a central theme. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing in the final paragraph ('when it would be unsuccessful') is slightly awkward, which prevents it from reaching the higher band descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey ideas with some precision. You use terms like 'prescribed', 'productive', and 'mentally exhausted' effectively. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'prescribed that trying something at full potential' (which is unnatural) and 'rarely gets engaged in the activities' (should be 'rarely engages in activities'). While you attempt less common vocabulary, these occasional errors in collocation keep the score at a Band 6 level, as they show a lack of full flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several error-free sentences, but there are also persistent grammatical slips. For example, 'one of the major advantage' should be 'advantages', and 'when it would be unsuccessful' is grammatically incorrect as it refers back to 'a child'. Additionally, 'the activities like playing' is slightly clunky. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Increasing the variety of complex structures while ensuring subject-verb agreement would improve your score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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