Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-09

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 6.5)

Some people believe that parents should encourage their children to participate in organized group activities during their free time while other argue that children should learn how to occupy themselves independently.

Although group activities provide valuable social and practical skills, I believe that children should have a balance of both experiences.

On the one hand, organized group activities can play a vital role in children's development. Participating in sports, clubs or other group events allows children to interact with their peers and develop essential social and valuable skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership. For instance, a child who plays in a football team knows how to work towards a common goal by following rules and respecting their team members. Furthermore, these activities not only encourage physical fitness and activeness but also prevent child from spending time on electronic devices.

On the other hand, learning to occupy oneself independently is also an important part of growing up. When children spend some free time alone, they have an opportunity to develop creativity, decision-making skills. For example, a child chooses to read a book, draw or build something must decide how to spend their their time without relying on parents or friends. This can help them become more confident and capable of knowing their skills and strengths.

In conclusion, I would like to say that organized group activities can teach children teamwork and communication whereas independent activities can develop creativity and confidence. I believe that giving children opportunities to experience both is the most effective approach to development skills.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all parts of the prompt by discussing both viewpoints and providing a clear personal opinion. Your position is consistent throughout the essay. The ideas are relevant and supported with examples, such as the football team for group activities and reading or drawing for independent play. To reach a higher band, you could further extend your arguments by exploring the potential drawbacks of each approach, such as the risk of social isolation for children who only play alone, or the potential for over-scheduling in organized activities. This would add more depth to your analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use transition signals effectively, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Furthermore', which help guide the reader through your argument. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two distinct viewpoints. To improve, ensure that your referencing is always precise; for example, in the third paragraph, the sentence 'a child chooses to read a book... must decide' is missing a relative pronoun (e.g., 'who chooses'), which slightly disrupts the flow of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'development', 'interact', 'essential', and 'independently'. However, the range is somewhat limited and relies on fairly common language. There are occasional minor errors, such as 'activeness' (which is less natural than 'activity' or 'being active') and 'prevent child' (which should be 'prevent children'). To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and less common lexical items to express your ideas with greater precision and variety.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this level. Most of your sentences are clear and easy to follow. However, there are some grammatical slips, such as 'other argue' (should be 'others argue'), 'prevent child from spending' (missing an article), and 'their their' (repetition). Additionally, the sentence 'a child chooses to read a book... must decide' is grammatically incomplete. Increasing the variety of your complex structures and proofreading for minor errors would help improve your score in this criterion.

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

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