Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-15
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)
In the modern world, many people believe that they should boost their child to do group activities in their leisure time. While on other hand, some people argue that they should do some activity and learn by themselves. Today, I will discuss both views and share my opinion.
To start with, many parents try to encourage their child to do some playing and education learning activity with their friends in their leisure time because it helps them to acquire knowledge and skills from others. In addition it also develops communication skills, language learning concepts playing in the group. For instance, my nephew learns many different words and games by playing with his friends.
On other hand, many parents try to occupy their toddlers to learn alone at their home. It provides lots of merits such as they acquire confidence, problem solving skills, cognitive skills. To illustrate more, one of my friend’s daughter always play alone at home and she gains lots of confidence and learnt many new concepts by her own.
From my perspective, both has their own advantages however, self learning is better way for the children to develop their own mind and their cognitive skills.
To conclude, self learning is key of development of the children for their better future.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses both views and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of the arguments. The ideas are presented but remain underdeveloped; for instance, the benefits of group activities and independent play are mentioned briefly without sufficient elaboration or analysis. To improve, you must expand on your points with more detailed explanations and specific examples to meet the length requirement and demonstrate a more thorough exploration of the topic.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'To start with', 'On other hand', 'To conclude'). There are also issues with referencing; for example, 'both has their own advantages' lacks a clear antecedent. To reach a higher band, you should use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that transitions between sentences and paragraphs are smoother and more natural.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'do some playing' and 'learn alone'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'boost their child to do group activities' and 'occupy their toddlers to learn alone'. To improve, focus on using more academic and precise vocabulary, such as 'foster social interaction' instead of 'do playing', and ensure that your word choices are contextually appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'While on other hand' (missing article), 'my friend’s daughter always play alone' (subject-verb agreement), and 'both has their own advantages' (subject-verb agreement). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure is often simplistic. To improve, focus on mastering subject-verb agreement and using a greater variety of complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences, while ensuring they remain error-free.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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