Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-27

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 5.5)

In some cultures, children are often told that if they work hard, they can achieve anything. There are several advantages to this message, as it can boost children's confidence and encourage them to work hard. However, it also has some disadvantages, including unrealistic expectations and self-blame in case if they fail.

On the one hand, this message has several benefits, as it can boost children's confidence and encourage them to work hard. When children are taught that success requires effort, they may become more motivated to achieve their goals. For example, if a student wants to get higher grades, they may study harder and start putting more effort in their studies. Moreover, this sense of confidence can encourage them to keep trying even after failure.

On the other hand, it comes with few major disadvantages, particularly unrealistic expectations and slef-blame if they fail. Although encouraging childrens build their confidence, it can create unrealistic expectations such as they may start believing that anything can be achieved. As a result when they fail to achieve their goals they may start blaming themselves, which can cause some serious problems and stress on them.

In conclusion, telling childrens that anything can be achieved is a good message, as it can encourage them to work hard and also boost their confidence. However, in some cases it may lead to unealistic expections of working hard and children's may start blaming themselves that they haven't work hard enough.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

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 maintained throughout the essay. However, ideas such as the negative consequences of failure are slightly repetitive and under-developed, preventing a higher score. Furthermore, the length requirement of 250 words is not met as the text contains 241 words. This slight under-length has been factored into the task achievement evaluation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is organized into a logical four-paragraph structure, including an introduction, two body paragraphs covering advantages and disadvantages respectively, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Moreover' are used to guide the reader through the arguments. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and referencing throughout the text is generally clear, resulting in a coherent overall arrangement despite some minor mechanical cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, such as 'unrealistic expectations', 'self-blame', and 'motivated'. There are, however, a few spelling and word-choice errors, including 'slef-blame', 'childrens' instead of 'children', and 'unealistic expections'. Less common vocabulary is attempted, but inaccuracies in spelling prevent the score from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional clauses ('if a student wants to get higher grades, they may study harder'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'in case if they fail', 'encouraging childrens build their confidence', and 'children's may start blaming themselves'. Nevertheless, these errors rarely impede overall communication.

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.