Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-03

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 5.5)

I agree with this given statement that children can be motivated to participate their sphere time to perform group activities. I also agree with those who consider toddlers should spend time with themselves.

On the one hand, there are a number of reasons why parents think children should utilize their time into group tasks. Firstly, if they spend their time on group activities, they can learn different kind of skills including communication, time management and creativity. As a result, these skills can be beneficial to boost their confidence which plays an important role in our life. Secondly, Spending free time in group members can enhance their knowledge in particular fields. For example, if teacher give a assignment to complete into group, they can make that more interesting and informative. Everyone show willingness to share their ideas which may motivate them to work in group.

On the other hand, why some people consider spending time with own can be beneficial for them. children's may get chance to work on their weak areas such as writing, reading and speaking skills. They can choose one of them in which they have lacking and become expert in it. Moreover, Children may become more independent as compare to others. They can know which thing is wrong for them and which one is right. They may enhance their decision making skills.

In conclusion, although utilizing time in group activities has many benefits, but the importance of later statement cannot be neglected due to various causes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, though the position is somewhat split. The ideas are relevant, but the development is limited by the brevity of the response. The essay falls just short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the depth of the arguments provided. To improve, you should expand on your examples and ensure that your personal opinion is more clearly integrated throughout the essay rather than just mentioned in the introduction and conclusion. The arguments regarding group activities and independent play are logical but lack sufficient supporting detail to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'Firstly', and 'In conclusion'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'the importance of later statement'. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that your pronouns clearly refer back to the intended nouns to create a smoother progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, but it is somewhat repetitive and lacks precision. Phrases like 'utilize their time into group tasks' and 'spend time with themselves' are understandable but not entirely natural. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'toddlers' (which refers to very young children, whereas the prompt implies school-aged children) and 'into group' instead of 'in groups'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and a wider range of topic-specific vocabulary related to child development and social skills.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('if teacher give a assignment'), incorrect preposition usage, and awkward phrasing ('as compare to others'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors in article usage and pluralisation. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the overall clarity of your writing. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors will help improve your score.

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

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