Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-14

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)

There is an ongoing debate over whether parents should encourage their children to take participate in organized group activities during their leisure time or children should be given the freedom to decide how they spend their free time. This essay will examine both perspectives. In my opinion, a balance of these approaches is the most beneficial for a child's overall development.

On the one hand, those who believe that parents should organized group activities for their children offer distinct advantages. Firstly, group activities help children develop social skills, discipline, cooperation and team- work. For example, sports teams, and drama activities require children to play with each other and this encourage mutual understanding and respect for each other. Secondly, children are not enough mature to decide on their own the things that are useful, and therefore the organized activities from parents expose them to meaningful games that helps children to pass their free time effectively and productively.

On the other hand, there are also strong reason to believe that children should learn to spend their leisure time on their own. First and foremost, this approach helps children become more responsible. When children decide their own leisure activities and manage everything own. This creates a feeling of sense of independence and develop confidence among them. As a result, they may become more mature and able to take independent decision, which is particularly useful, when they enter the professional field. Moreover, deciding own free time reduces unnecessary stress on children, as they always occupied with overschedule, a little freedom helps them take a break and think freely.

In conclusion, both organized group activities have their own advantages. Therefore, I believe that a more balanced approach would be effective. Children should be encouraged to join group activities, but they should also be given structured time to take independent decision on their own.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both views and providing a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The ideas are relevant, such as social skills for group activities and independence for solitary time. However, some points are slightly under-developed; for instance, the argument about children not being 'mature enough' to choose activities could be supported with a more concrete example. The position is consistent throughout, and the essay maintains a logical flow that directly answers the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, there are minor issues with referencing and flow, such as the phrase 'manage everything own' which is grammatically incomplete and disrupts the cohesion of that sentence. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and the progression of ideas is generally smooth, though some transitions could be more sophisticated to reach a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common collocations like 'overall development' and 'professional field'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'take participate' (should be 'participate'), 'organized group activities from parents' (should be 'organized by parents'), and 'always occupied with overschedule' (should be 'overscheduled'). These errors do not impede communication but indicate a need for more precise control over word forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the writer attempts complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('this encourage', 'games that helps') and missing prepositions or articles ('manage everything own', 'deciding own free time'). Punctuation is generally correct, but the frequency of minor grammatical slips prevents the response from reaching a higher band. The majority of sentences are understandable, but the control over complex structures is inconsistent.

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.