Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-05

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 the recent times,it is observed that in some cultures ,children are told that they can achieve anything if they try hard enough.It is often preached in order to boost their morale and make them believe that noting is impossile.The number of advantages for this outweights the number of disadvantages.The following paragraphs will shed light upon the positives and negatives of this practice.

Children are often taught that "nothing is impossible",which is very advantageous for their overall morale and helps them in developing a positive mindset,it also motivates them to work hard in order to achieve their goals.On the contarary if we teach children that some things in life are not possible,it may demotivate them to put in the hard work in order to achieve their goals.Additionally it is important to remember that we can not determine accurately if something is possible or not,for example it was believed that it was impossible for humans to fly,but with the invention of air planes in the 20th by the wright brothers ,it is now possible for humans to fly in air planes.

However ,It is important to consider the limitations and the disadvantages of telling children that they can achieve anything if they try hard enough.Some children may take it literally and may waste their time and enery inorder to achive things in which they are likely to fail ,whereas if they are made aware about the reality ,they may divert their attention to something meaningfull for which they have a higher chance of achieving.Additionlly if a person does not get results after putting in years of hardwork ,he/she may loose their faith and may be demotivated.In order to avoid this situation it is advisable to make them aware about the probablity of them not achieving it,that way they can mentally prepare themselves for any outcome.

Therefore,in conclusion,it is generally advisable to teach children that noting is impossible and that they can achieve anything if the put in the hard work,Argueably by doing this we may increase their chances of success.However we should make sure that they are mentally prepared to accept any outcome and move on with their life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

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 stated in the introduction and maintained throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas is uneven. While the advantages are supported with a relevant example about human flight and the Wright brothers, some ideas are left under-developed. For instance, the point about children wasting time and energy is not fully explored with specific consequences or examples. To reach a higher level, all main points need to be fully extended and supported with deeper explanations and more comprehensive elaboration throughout the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the opposing viewpoints. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, particularly in the handling of spacing and punctuation around transitional markers like "Additionally", "However", and "Therefore". Referencing is occasionally unclear, and some cohesive devices feel repetitive. To improve coherence, you should ensure smoother transitions between sentences and paragraphs, integrate referencing pronouns more precisely, and apply standard punctuation rules after cohesive markers to create a more natural flow of ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, providing a minimally sufficient range to discuss the topic. There are noticeable attempts to use less common items such as "morale", "probablity", and "meaningfull", but these are accompanied by frequent spelling errors and minor word-choice inaccuracies, including "noting" instead of "nothing", "impossile", "enery", "achive", and "loss" used as "loose". Although these errors do not seriously impede communication, they restrict the lexical score. To achieve a higher band, you need to expand your vocabulary range, use less common lexical items with greater precision in style and collocation, and eliminate spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting various compound and complex forms such as conditional and concessive clauses. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly regarding comma splices, missing spaces after punctuation marks, incorrect article usage, and prepositions inside grammatical patterns. For instance, phrases like "in the recent times" and "outweights" show lapses in control. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they prevent the essay from securing a higher score. To improve your grammatical range and accuracy, you should focus on sentence boundaries, punctuate complex sentences correctly, and refine your control over verb forms and article placement.

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.