Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-12

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)

In some cultures, children are given message to accomplish anything through hard work. While this message has more advantages it also has certain disadvantages that must be taken into consideration. This essay will outline both pros and demerits of this practice.

One significant advantage of instilling this idea of limitless potential is that it fosters the child mindset and encourages to achieve anything. They are more likely to face all the challenges and also accept the failure as a new learning opportunity. For example, the child practising mathematics will find new ways to solve the problem, develop reasoning and analytical skills. It will boost them learn from the repeated failure and create a perseverance helping them grow academically and for personal pursuits as well.

On the other hand, there are notable disadvantages for an instance it may create an unrealistic expectations and unnecessary pressure. If children are constantly told that they can achieve anything their failure might feel them as a personal shortcoming. For example, if a child struggles for competitive sports and is unable to meet the standard set by others, despite enough efforts it may lower the self esteem. Additionally, other external factors like natural ability or circumstances may be neglected and a self blame may dishearten that hardworking child. A child with limited resources may find it difficult to succeed leading to a feeling of inadequacy.

In conclusion, giving the message that a child and achieve anything the want by hard work may boost their motivation, build resilience and encourages confidence and self discipline while some might face failure creating an unrealistic expectations, mental pressure leading to burnout. Hence, parents and teachers should keep this as a positive message and also explain the other side of success which is not always recognised as a failure but a learning lesson.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of telling children they can achieve anything. A clear position is established in the introduction and maintained throughout. Main ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the discussion on problem-solving skills for advantages and unrealistic expectations or burnout for disadvantages. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalise in places, and some arguments could be explored with even greater depth to reach the highest band. Nevertheless, the requirements of the task are well met, demonstrating a clear understanding of the prompt and delivering a balanced perspective.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organised with a clear progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with distinct paragraphs dedicated to the advantages and disadvantages. Cohesive devices such as 'While this message has', 'One significant advantage', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are employed to guide the reader through the text, although some cohesive ties and referencing occasionally feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the repeated use of 'For example'. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with attempts to incorporate less common lexical items such as 'limitless potential', 'analysed skills', 'perseverance', and 'inadequacy'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing, such as 'fosters the child mindset', 'failure might feel them as a personal shortcoming', and 'struggles for competitive sports'. Spelling and word formation are mostly accurate, but vocabulary limitations prevent the response from achieving a higher band. The lexical range is sufficient to communicate ideas clearly despite occasional awkwardness.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using conditional clauses and subordinate structures reasonably well. There are several error-free sentences, particularly in the body paragraphs. However, a number of grammatical errors and missing articles persist, such as 'children are given message', 'encourages to achieve anything', 'boost them learn', and 'an unrealistic expectations'. While these errors do not seriously impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the score from rising into the higher bands. Control over punctuation and basic grammar is generally satisfactory.

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