Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-10

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 5.0)

It is highly debated wheter children should spend their leisure time participating in organized group activities or if they should learn to entertain themselves independently. While structured group pursuits cultivate vital social skills. I believe that developing the ability to occupy oneself is equally crucial for nurturing creativity and self reliance.

On the other hand structured group activities offer significant benefits for a child's social development. When children join sports teams, scouting groups,or drama clubs, they are exposed to a collaborative environment . Tis setting teaches them how to cooperte with peers, follow structured rules and resolve confilcts constructively. For instance playing in afootball team requires communication and a shared commitment toward a common goal which prepars children for future professional enviroments.Furthermore

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response begins to address the discussion by identifying social benefits of organised activities and stating that independent play is also important for creativity and self-reliance. The football example is relevant and helps explain how teamwork can prepare children for adult settings. However, the response ends before it develops the second view or explains your own opinion, so the task is addressed only minimally. The length requirement is also not met: the response contains 122 words against the required minimum of 250. To improve, complete the discussion of independent activities, explain why you consider both abilities important, and support each main point with a developed example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is an identifiable opening, followed by a paragraph about group activities, and the ideas within that paragraph generally follow a sensible order: activities are named, their social benefits are explained, and a football example is added. However, the response stops at “Furthermore,” leaving the paragraph and overall argument unfinished. The second perspective has no paragraph, and the reader cannot follow a complete progression from both views to a conclusion. Some linking is attempted through “On the other hand” and “For instance,” but the first transition does not clearly contrast with the preceding sentence. Use separate paragraphs for each view and your opinion, and finish with a conclusion that brings the argument together.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response shows some useful topic vocabulary, including “leisure time,” “social development,” “collaborative environment,” and “resolve conflicts constructively.” These choices communicate the main point and show an attempt to use language beyond basic terms. However, spelling errors and awkward or imprecise phrasing are noticeable, including “wheter,” “Tis,” “cooperte,” and “professional enviroments.” Some expressions could also be more natural: “structured rules” is less precise than “rules,” while “shared commitment toward a common goal” could be expressed more concisely. Proofread carefully and build a wider range of accurate collocations for discussing independence, creativity, and social development.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both a complex opening sentence and a relative clause in “When children join sports teams … they are exposed to a collaborative environment,” showing some range beyond simple statements. However, sentence boundaries and punctuation are not consistently controlled. “While structured group pursuits cultivate vital social skills.” is a dependent clause presented as a complete sentence; it should be joined to the following main clause. The opening also needs a comma after “On the other hand,” and spacing around punctuation is inconsistent. The unfinished “Furthermore” leaves a fragment at the end. Practise combining dependent clauses with main clauses, and check each sentence for a complete subject–verb structure and appropriate punctuation.

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