Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-12

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 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.

In my opinion, children should know how to occupy themselves on their own. Because it is important for them to know that what are their interests and how they want to spend their free time. Parents should guide them if they are doing anything wrong in their free time, but they shouldn't impose anything on children.

Moreover, sometimes when parents are encouraging their children to take part in organised group activities, it makes them feel that something is being imposed on them, if they are not interested in those activities. Children should have the power to make their own decisions. It will have a great impact on their decision-making power.

According to my experience, I have seen some people who were being told by their parents what to do in their free time. They got involved in those organised group activities. But couldn't perform well in the activities. They became insecure about their personalities that they can't excel in life if they can't perform well in the activities. Although, they were good in other activities. Obviously, they need to explore themselves.

In conclusion, it is important for children to learn how to occupy themselves on their own. They may feel that their parents are not participating but they will realize later on that it was for their own good.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt—discussing organised group activities versus independent free time—and presents a clear personal opinion that children should learn to occupy themselves on their own. The position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the ideas are somewhat limited in scope and under-developed, relying on repetitive arguments about decision-making and parental pressure rather than exploring broader benefits like socialisation or skill-building. For instance, the discussion in the third paragraph regarding children who were told what to do is somewhat anecdotal and lacks deeper analytical development. Because some aspects of the discussion remain basic, this fits the Band 6 descriptor well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear stance established in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. Paragraphing is used, separating the introduction, two body paragraphs, and the conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, starting sentences with connectors like 'Because it is important...' creates sentence fragments, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'They became insecure about their personalities that they can't excel...' Transitions between paragraphs could be smoother to establish better logical progression. These features align the response closely with a Band 6 score for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts relating to parenting, free time, and personal choice (e.g., 'organised group activities', 'decision-making power', 'impose anything'). There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'insecure' and 'explore themselves', but word choice and collocation are occasionally awkward or imprecise, as seen in 'secure about their personalities' or 'know that what are their interests'. Spelling is generally accurate, but lexical limitations and occasional inaccuracies restrict the score to a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though control over complex structures is inconsistent. There are noticeable grammatical errors and punctuation issues that occasionally impede clarity, most notably a sentence fragment ('Because it is important for them to know that what are their interests and how they want to spend their free time.') and awkward subordinate clause structures ('They became insecure about their personalities that they can't excel...'). While communication is generally maintained despite these errors, the frequency and nature of the inaccuracies prevent the essay from reaching a Band 7.

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