Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-19

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)

Some of the population suggest that the kids should be encouraged by their parents to pursue group leisure programs, whereas others say that children should do their own things for recreation. I believe the kids should involve in both group and self directed activities but try to engage more with mates and do group programs.

First of all, joining the group for leisure activities helps children to develop social connections between each other. Children come to know about their friends. Also, doing fun activities together will teach kids basic manners and assets such as helping others, teamwork, and collaboration, and so on. The studies suggest that the person between the age of5 to 15 will get impacted and inspired by the surroundings.

However, children should be taught to do independent leisure things on their own. Sometimes, the kids might not meet the cognitive or physical level of the surrounding group which they want to join because of some challenges. In such scenario, the kids will lack self confidence and will start doubting their existance which will have terribly bad effect on the overall well being of the baby.

Doing both group and self directed activities are essential for the younger generation. Whereas, I strongly believe that the parents should teach their kids to try to engage with their mates and participate in the programs including games, reading, writing, studying together to help builf their connections strong.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the essay falls short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which limits the depth of the discussion. While the ideas regarding social development and independent play are relevant, they are somewhat underdeveloped. The arguments could be strengthened by providing more concrete examples or deeper analysis of the long-term benefits of each approach. Because the response is under-length, it cannot fully develop the ideas to the level required for a higher band score, resulting in a penalty for task completion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. The use of cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'However', and 'Whereas' helps guide the reader through the argument. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, though the connection between the ideas in the conclusion and the body paragraphs could be more tightly integrated to improve the overall progression of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. Phrases like 'do their own things' and 'do independent leisure things' are repetitive and informal. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'assets' used to describe social skills and 'existance' (spelling error). The student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary, but the range is limited, and the expression is often simplistic. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and avoiding informal phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'the kids should involve in' (should be 'should be involved in') and 'builf' (spelling error). Subject-verb agreement and preposition usage are occasionally inconsistent. The use of complex structures is attempted, but these often contain errors that slightly impede the flow. A greater focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and refining complex sentence construction would help elevate the score.

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