Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-03

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)

In recent years, there has been considerable debate regarding whether parents should encourage their children to take part in a club that hosts planned activities. Whereas, others believe that its should be a primary responsibility of childrens to learn how to occupy themelves on thier own during thier free time. This essay will discuss both the views and put forth my views in the conclusion.

To commense with, parents believe it would be in favour of their children when they would be encouraged to participate in social groups like summer camps, sports club that hosts planned activities to stay active druing their free time. As a result, it will be beneficial for the children to learn how to organise task and achieve their golas. Moreover, it will be beneficial at each and every stage of life as planning is a vital factor that plays a major role in order to acieve the goals on time and become successful. Consequently, it helps the brain to think in a vast direction by constantly engaging in activities and developing ideas at the same time.

However, others believe that it is equally important for children to learn how to plan activities and be actively engaged by their own. Self planning gives a sense of independence to decide on which activity to work on as per individuals wish. For instance, a child can play a sport that he wants to excell by practicing to become perfect in the respective sport during his free time. Furthermore, it helps to develop decision making skills that is also required in each and every aspects of life.

It will be in best interest of children when they are encouraged to praticipate in organised group activities beacuse they can learn team work, opportunity to make new friends and learn something new everyday from group members. In my opinion, this will result in children being constantly motivated to participate in social activities where they can make new friends.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both views on children's activities and offering a personal opinion, sitting at a level where the task is only partially addressed. While both sides of the argument are touched upon, the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, the discussion on organised group activities relies on repetitive points about planning and goals without fully exploring broader social or psychological impacts. Similarly, the alternative view advocating for independent play mentions decision-making skills, but this is not extended with thorough examples or deeper analysis. The student's position is discernible in the conclusion, though the overall progression of ideas feels a bit restricted and lacks full elaboration across all sections.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some organisation with a recognisable four-paragraph structure, but it lacks a clear overall progression from beginning to end. While paragraphing is attempted, the logical flow between and within paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by repetitive phrasing and weak transitional links, such as 'To commense with' and 'Consequently'. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or overly mechanical, which hampers the smoothness of the text. Referencing is also a little unclear at times, particularly with pronouns like 'it' and 'they', making it occasionally difficult to track the exact subjects being discussed. The overall arrangement is coherent enough to follow, but the management of cohesive ties remains basic and repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey the basic message of the essay. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'considerable debate' and 'independent', but these attempts are accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form. Examples include spelling mistakes like 'themelves' and 'thier', as well as awkward phrasing such as 'its should be' and 'sport that he wants to excell'. There are also frequent spelling and form slips across the text, such as 'commense', 'druing', and 'acieve'. These errors create some difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted lexical range that struggles to achieve precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer employs a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple forms alongside occasional, faulty attempts at complex sentences. Frequent errors in grammar are apparent throughout the text, including issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'childrens', 'each and every aspects'), prepositional usage, and article omission. For example, phrases like 'a sport that he wants to excell by practicing to become perfect' and 'in best interest of children' demonstrate poor control over complex syntactic patterns. These frequent structural errors can cause occasional difficulty for the reader in interpreting the intended meaning.

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