Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-02
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)
There has been ongoing debate about whether pupils ought to be encouraged by parents to participate in group activities.Some individuals believe that children must learn how to explore different activities productively by their own. This essay will discuss both perspectives before presenting my own opinion.
On the one hand, proponents of encouraging students at home argue that numerous kids possess least interest in participating in any type of group activity. This is primarily because of having comparatively less confidence in students. So, to rise the level of confidence, parents are more likely to motivate them to take part in different programs.For instance, children participating in puzzle or quiz, helps them to enhance mental creativity and sharpens the mind.Therefore, parents taking part to encourage their offspring gives certain benefits to children.
On the other hand, critics contend that students must take the responsibility to keep themselves occupied with different group activities.They should understand the advantages of being a part in a team activity.In addition, only students can help them to improve their communication skills, leadership qualities, etcetera by participating in organized group activities.
From my perspective, encouragement from parents to students for taking part in certain activities in free time is definitely a better approach from parent's side. Hence, motivating students seems more convincing because some chiildren just need a motivation to become better at every field.
In conclusion, while both the views have their own merits, I believe that providing significant stimulation to kids is more practical and beneficial in long run.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—encouraging group activities versus learning to occupy oneself—and providing a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is limited and somewhat repetitive. For instance, the discussion on why parents encourage participation, such as 'to rise the level of confidence', lacks full extension and relies on vague generalisations. Similarly, the second body paragraph intended to support the opposing view gets confused regarding who 'they' and 'students' refer to, muddying the argument. While a position is presented throughout, the ideas are under-developed, placing the task response at this level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing separating the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Information and ideas are generally organised, moving logically from one viewpoint to the next. However, referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the third paragraph where it is confusing to determine who 'only students can help them to improve' refers to. Cohesive devices are used, but they can occasionally feel mechanical or slightly repetitive with transitions like 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand'. Overall, the logical progression is clear enough to make the essay easy to follow despite minor referencing flaws.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, providing a minimally sufficient range to discuss the prompt. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'proponents', 'perspective', and 'stimulation', but this is accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and phrasing, such as 'possess least interest', 'to rise the level of confidence', and 'being a part in a team activity'. Furthermore, awkward word forms and lexical slips like 'chiildren' and 'in long run' appear, though they do not severely impede communication. The writer has enough words to convey basic meaning, but lacks precision and stylistic control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in sentence structures with dependent clauses like 'This is primarily because of having...'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly involving prepositions, articles, and awkward phrasing such as 'by their own' instead of 'on their own', and 'from parent's side'. While these errors in grammar rarely completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to cause some difficulty for the reader and show inconsistent control over complex structures.
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.