Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-30

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 6.5)

It is often argued that parents should encourage their children to participate in organized activities, while others believe that children should learn to spend their free time with themselves. Although, group activities activities can help children develop social skills, while independent activities are important for independence. I believe there should be a balance approach between participating in organized events and spending time alone is the most beneficial.

On the one hand, participating in organized group activities help children to develop social and teamwork skills. Group activities can improve children's social skills because they require them to communicate with other and cooperate with other different personalities. For example, a child who regularly plays football with other team members must listen to each other, follow rules and work with each other to achieve a common goal. These skills can be also useful later in school and workplace.

On the other hand, children also need to spend some time alone to become more independent. When children choose their own activities, they learn to make their own decision and solve problems constantly without relying on parents or friends. For example, a child who enjoys building Lego have to build it by own or fixing mistake independently. This gradually increase their confidence and make them capable of solving problems.

In conclusion, group activities can help children to develop social and teamwork skills, whereas independent activities can encourage children to take their own-decision and problem-solving. In my opinion, parents should provide both types of opportunities so that children can develop wide range of skills

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—organised group activities and independent play—while clearly stating a personal position in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant, such as mentioning teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. For instance, the example of a child playing football effectively illustrates how group dynamics foster cooperation. However, some ideas remain slightly underdeveloped or generalized, such as the brief mention of building Lego without deeper elaboration on how it translates to adult life. To reach a higher level, the ideas would need to be more fully extended and explored with greater depth.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay presents a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus: the introduction outlines the topic and stance, the body paragraphs address the two contrasting views respectively, and the conclusion synthesises the main points. Cohesive devices are used adequately to guide the reader, employing transition signals like 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. While cohesion is generally clear, occasional mechanical referencing or minor transitional awkwardness prevents the text from achieving a more fluid organisation.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'cooperate', 'independent', and 'common goal'. However, there are notable word choice and phrasing errors, such as 'balance approach' instead of 'balanced approach', and repetitive phrasing like 'social skills' and 'problem-solving'. Word formation issues also occur, such as 'take their own-decision'. These occasional inaccuracies and limited flexibility in collocations restrict the vocabulary score to a moderate level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt to use relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'activities activities can help', 'help children to develop' (following plural subjects), and 'enjoys building Lego have to build it by own'. Punctuation and structural slips, including an incomplete introductory sentence structure ('Although, group activities activities can help... while independent activities are important...'), cause occasional strain for the reader.

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