Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-24
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)
It is widely suggested that children should use their leisure time with proper planning, so they can learn different kind of skills, which are essential for their mental and physical development. Some people argue that children should learn how to stay occupied without any assistant. However, I firmly believe that social gatherings and perform activities as a group is essential for the development of various skills in youngsters.
Playing with friends, not only promote various social skills, but it also improve their communication skills. Youngster, who take part in a group activity, such as : making a bridge with the help of bocks, this form of group work provides them a chance to work as a team, which ultimately results in acquiring skills, like problem solving and they will also learn sharing and how to perform as a team. These skills will be beneficial for their future, as they become more confidence, to work in a group and learn how to help each other. A prime example can be seen with students of kinder garden, as they first start to collaborate with other kids, they feel more comfortable, as they more to grade one. Group activities, therefore, play a vital role in children development and overall growth.
On other hand, youngster who's parent prefer to play alone can be more focused, as they can perform well and work on their own drawbacks without any disturbance. This time can be utilized to learn a new skill. For instance, learning a music instrument, which requires silence atmosphere and proper concentration. This can only be achieved a person learn on its own. For instance, If a minor learn how to play a guitar at this age, this might be used as a profession in the long run, which is only possible if children spend alone time to practice these type of skills,
From my standpoint, these days it is essential to be multitalented and be confident, which can only be achieved if a person learn grou working in a group and
In conclusion,
,
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion. However, the essay is incomplete; the final paragraph is left unfinished, and the conclusion is missing entirely. This significantly impacts the development of the argument, as the final point is cut off mid-sentence. While the initial ideas regarding social skills and individual focus are relevant, the lack of a proper conclusion and the abrupt ending mean the task is not fully addressed. To improve, ensure you manage your time effectively to complete all sections of the essay, including a clear summary of your position.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay uses some cohesive devices like 'However', 'For instance', and 'On other hand', but the flow is disrupted by the incomplete nature of the final paragraphs. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final section is fragmented, which hinders the overall logical progression. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the transition to the example of 'kinder garden' students is slightly disjointed. To achieve a higher band, focus on using a wider range of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that each paragraph is fully developed and logically connected to the next.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, though there are several errors in word choice and form, such as 'perform activities' instead of 'performing activities', 'kinder garden' (kindergarten), and 'silence atmosphere' instead of 'silent atmosphere'. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'multitalented' and 'collaborate', but the range is limited. Some phrasing is repetitive, and the errors occasionally draw attention to themselves. To improve, focus on learning collocations—words that naturally go together—and proofread for common spelling and word-form mistakes.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Examples include 'different kind of skills' (should be 'kinds'), 'without any assistant' (should be 'assistance'), and 'youngster who's parent' (should be 'whose'). Subject-verb agreement and article usage are inconsistent. While the meaning is generally clear, these errors are frequent enough to impede the flow of reading. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically subject-verb agreement and the correct use of possessive pronouns and articles.
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.