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)

Involving your children in some activities other than studies help them to develop sense of responsibility in them. They must have some activity which they can later adopt as a hobby in their free time. An activity can be taking part in organized group or do something on their own.

In contemporary society, a number of parents encourage their children to enroll themselves in an institute or some sports club. In a sports club they can choose any sport of their interest like swimming, karate, boxing, martial arts and so on. However, involving in a physical activity in a group enhance their critical thinking, sportsmanship, helping their fellow team-mate, sharing with others and respect each other. For instance, if they play any game and they lost they learn how to accept a defeat. In an organized group they learn how to behave with others and it grooms their personality which will be beneficial for them in the long-run. Moreover, group activities is also beneficial for children who are shy and introvert as such activities help them to build confidence in them. Furthermore, an environment other than their home will be good for their mental health.

In contrast, other group of people do not encourage group activities rather than they emphasize on letting a child to learn on his own. They believe that it is not safe for a child to involve in group activities as you don't know the intentions of somebody and children are innocent. Anybody can take advantage of them.

In my perspective, either involve in group activities or learn on their own have some advantages and disadvantages. But it is advisable to give the child authority to decide what he wants to do . In this way the child will be able to take his decisions and it will boost his confidence as we all learn from our mistakes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on children's free-time activities (organized group activities versus independent play) and providing a clear personal opinion in the conclusion, suggesting that children should be given the autonomy to decide. Ideas are generally well-developed and supported with relevant examples, such as learning sportsmanship and social interaction through group activities, as well as the safety considerations and decision-making benefits of independent play. The position is clear throughout, and the main arguments are sufficiently extended, satisfying the core requirements for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, moving logically from an introduction to body paragraphs discussing group activities and independent play, followed by a concluding perspective. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For instance, transitional phrases like 'In contrast, other group of people do not encourage group activities rather than they emphasize' show awkward linking, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as pronoun use in 'either involve in group activities or learn on their own have some advantages and disadvantages'. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but logical progression could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and collocations such as 'contemporary society', 'critical thinking', 'sportsmanship', and 'long-run'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'involving your children... help them' (instead of helping), 'involving in a physical activity', and 'other group of people'. Spelling is generally accurate, but these lexical errors and awkward phrasings occasionally restrict precision and indicate limitations in control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating conditional clauses ('if they play any game and they lost') and relative clauses ('who are shy and introvert'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and preposition usage, such as 'help them to develop sense of responsibility', 'involving in a physical activity', and 'either involve in group activities or learn on their own have'. Additionally, sentence structures occasionally break down in terms of parallel form and clause integration. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they prevent the text from achieving a higher band.

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