Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-07-31
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Some people say that parents should encourage their children to take part in organised group activities in their free time. Others say that it is important for children to learn how to occupy themselves on their own.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 7.5)
Nowadays a lot of people believe that parents should encourage their children to take part in organized group activities in their free time while on the other side of the spectrum some people believe that the kids should learn how to keep themselves occupied on their own without needing any external push.
Many people believe that children should take part in organized group activities in their free time as such activities can prove to be a great way for the children to meet other children and make new friends. Apart from that taking part in group activities can also help children develop the skills of working together as a team with other children with different attitudes and mindset which can help them in developing a sense of compassion and empathy for other. Another reason why such group activities can prove to be impactful is that such environment encourages children to explore their interests, their strengths and their weaknesses at an early age which can have a positive impact on their overall growth and mental development
On the other hand many people believe that children should learn to occupy themselves on their own because they would face situations in their life where they might now have people around to keep them accompany and during such times knowing of to occupy oneself can be a very useful skill to have. Secondly if children learn to occupy themselves at an early age without needing any external instructions it can help the child become self dependent and he/she can develop skills like critical thinking and decision making and they can take crucial life decisions on their own in the future. For example during the covid pandemic when everyone was at home by themselves lot of people found activities like cooking or painting to keep themselves occupied in such tough times.
In conclusion I believe that it is more important for children to learn how to occupy themselves on their own as in todays' rapidly developing world it might be very difficult to keep children accompanied all the time and it can also help children develop very important skills that can help them in the future.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 7.0 |
| Overall | 7.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both viewpoints and providing a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed. For instance, the benefits of group activities (social skills, empathy) and the advantages of independent play (self-dependence, critical thinking) are clearly articulated. To reach a higher band, the student could provide more specific, nuanced examples rather than general statements. The position is consistent throughout, and the essay structure is logical, ensuring the reader understands the writer's stance from the introduction to the final paragraph.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5
The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the transition between the two viewpoints is smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'Apart from that', 'Another reason', and 'On the other hand' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, some linking phrases are slightly repetitive or mechanical. The use of paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall structure supports the argument well. To improve, the student could use a wider variety of cohesive devices to link sentences more fluidly within paragraphs.
Lexical Resource — Band 7.0
The vocabulary is sufficient for the task and allows for clear communication. The student uses some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'compassion', 'empathy', 'self-dependent', and 'critical thinking'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are occasional instances of slightly awkward phrasing, such as 'keep them accompany' (should be 'keep them company') and 'knowing of to occupy oneself' (should be 'knowing how to occupy oneself'). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Expanding the range of collocations and idiomatic expressions would enhance the lexical quality.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is a good attempt at using complex sentences, such as 'if children learn to occupy themselves at an early age without needing any external instructions it can help the child become self dependent'. However, there are several grammatical slips, including missing articles ('in todays' rapidly developing world'), punctuation errors (missing commas in complex sentences), and minor subject-verb agreement issues. While these errors are noticeable, they do not significantly impede the reader's understanding. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences would improve the score.
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