Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-16
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 believe that it is parents responsibility to encourage their children to do some group activities in their free time. While others believe that parents should give freedom to their children and allow them to learn what to do in free time by their own. This essay will discuss both these views and my opinion.
On the one hand, some people take their children to different group activities like dance classes, painting classes etc. in their free time so that their kids can learn so many useful skills and use their free time to learn rather than just sitting and using mobile. These children can become active in every field. Additionally, they can make new friends there and learn how to socialise.
Furthermore, these group activities can build children's confidence to speak infront of others. Children can do much more rather than studing academic books. In recent times, so many interesting classes has been established like project making in which they can learn to make science projects which might be helpful for their study too. Children can explore so many things and some activites make them physically fit like dancing or swimming.
On the other hand, some people say that it is very important for children to learn how to occupy themselves on their own. If parents take kids in classes in their free time then children will not get any free time to do something on their own. Their whole day will be occupied and thay might get tired. They will totally dependent on their parents. They will not able to develop their interest by their own. Even if children do not like something then also they have to those activities due to parental pressure.
In my opinion, I think both are equally important. Parents should encourage their children to do some group activities and then allow them to make their own decison about activites they will do in their leisure time.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on children's activities and presenting a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant and supported with examples, such as mentioning dance classes, swimming, and project making. However, some arguments tend to generalise and remain slightly under-developed, particularly the final conclusion which suggests a combination of both views without fully exploring the implications. The progression from discussing structured activities to independent play is clear, aligning well with the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 6.0 performance under this criterion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is structured into logical paragraphs with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing each view, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'On the other hand' are used to guide the reader through the arguments. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'some people' and 'children'. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but overall the flow lacks the flexibility seen in higher bands. Therefore, a solid Band 6 score is appropriate.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'socialise', 'parental pressure', and 'leisure time'. There are attempts at less common vocabulary, but some word choices and collocations are slightly imprecise or repetitive, such as 'take kids in classes' instead of 'enroll children in classes' or 'by their own' instead of 'on their own'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the lexical range remains somewhat limited, preventing the response from reaching a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures like 'If parents take kids in classes...'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, including article omissions ('it is parents responsibility'), subject-verb agreement errors ('classes has been established', 'tahyt might get tired'), and preposition errors ('infront of'). Despite these errors, meaning is rarely impeded, and the sentence structures demonstrate a reasonable attempt at complexity, supporting a Band 6 score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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