An IELTS agree or disagree essay at Band 6, 7 and 8
Quick answer
This page answers one invented agree or disagree prompt three times, at Band 6, 7 and 8, with the same position, the same two ideas and the same examples, and it marks the phrases that earn or lose marks. For this shape, the thing that most often separates the bands is whether the position stays the same from the introduction to the last line and each idea is explained, not just named.
In the app, a Task 2 essay is marked with an overall Writing band, a band for each criterion and an Examiner's Summary, so you can set your own against the three here.
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On this page
This page takes one invented prompt and answers it three times, at Band 6, Band 7 and Band 8. The plan is the same in all three: the same position, the same two ideas and the same example behind each. Only the writing changes, so the differences you see belong to the bands, not to the opinions. The shape is explained in how to answer agree or disagree questions; it is a label from practice material, not an IELTS category.
The three essays were written for this site. They are not from a real paper, they were not marked by IELTS, and they are illustrations to compare against, not answers to memorise. IELTS.org penalises memorised and plagiarised content, and the prompt in your exam will be different, so the use of this page is to see what each band looks like.
Key takeaways
- All three essays take the same position and use the same two ideas. What changes is how clearly the position is held, how far each idea is explained and how accurately the sentences are built.
- The Band 6 essay has a position and answers the question, but its conclusion drops the limit the introduction set and one idea is named, not explained.
- The Band 7 essay holds one position from start to finish and explains both ideas, with a slip or two left in.
- The Band 8 essay is not longer or harder in vocabulary. It is more exact, and its paragraphs hand over to each other without help.
The prompt
This prompt is invented for practice and is not from a past paper.
Primary schools should make learning a musical instrument compulsory, because it helps children to concentrate in other lessons. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
The statement has a claim (compulsory) and a reason (concentration), so a complete answer judges both. All three essays follow this plan:
- Position: agree, but only for the early years of primary school.
- Idea one: an instrument trains concentration. The example is a child learning the recorder, who has to hold attention for a whole piece.
- Idea two: music teaches cooperation. The example is a class band, where each part is incomplete alone.
- Limit: older pupils who are forced to continue may come to dislike music, so the requirement should end after the early years.
The same essay at Band 6, 7 and 8
Hover or tap a marked phrase to see what a marker would note. The legend names the criterion for each colour, and orange marks a slip that loses marks.
Band 6
Nowadays many people discuss whether music should be compulsory in primary schools. Some people think it is useful and other people think it is not necessary. In my opinion, I agree with this idea because it helpSubject-verb agreement: should be “helps” children to concentrate, but only in the first years of school.
FirstlyFirstly and Secondly are the only links between body paragraphs, playing an instrument is good for concentration. When a child learnSubject-verb agreement: should be “learns” the recorder, he must watch the music all the time, and if he do a mistakeWrong verb and agreement: should be “makes a mistake” the other children hear it. So he learns to concentrate and this is very important for his study. It is also a good habit for the future, and he learns to be patient. Many children have a problem to concentrate in other lessons, so music can help them with this.
Secondly, music is good for cooperation. Also, music is fun for children and they like to do it with their friends. Children play together so they cooperate and this is a good thing for the societyIdea named but not explained; no example of how playing together teaches cooperation. I beleiveSpelling: should be “believe” this is a big advantage of learning music at school.
However, I think music should not be compulsory for all years. When children are older, they can be forced to play and then they will not like music, and some children stop to go to the lesson. This is not good for them and it is a waste of time in the school.
In conclusionOnly signal of a closing paragraph, which then repeats earlier points, music is good for children and it is important in school. I think schools should make it compulsory, so this is my opinionThe early-years limit from the introduction is dropped, so the position blurs. Music helps children to concentrate and to cooperate, and it is good for them. I hope that schools will think about this.
Band 7
Some people believe that primary schools should make learning a musical instrument compulsory because it helps children to concentrate in other lessons. I agree with this view to a large extent, but I think the requirement should apply only to the early years of primary schoolPosition and its limit in one sentence a reader can repeat back.
The main reason is that playing an instrument trains concentration. A child learning the recorder has to keep their attention on the music for the whole pieceNatural collocation, and “piece” is the right word for music, because a mistake is heard by the whole class straight awayThe reason behind the example is given in the same sentence. Pupils who have practised this for ten minutes at a time are better prepared to a reading lessonPreposition slip: should be “prepared for”, since it is the same skill used on different material. Over a term, this repeated effort becomes a habit.
Another reasonA plain signpost that fits; the paragraph keeps to one topic is that music teaches children to cooperate. In a class band, each child’s part sounds incomplete alone, so they must listen to the others and adjust. Over time the group also depends on each child, which gives every one of them a reason to take the lessons seriously. This is a skill that written exercises seldom develop, and it means that even a shy child can feel part of a group by the end of term.
However, I do not think the rule should continue for the whole of school life. Older pupils who are forced to continue may start to dislike music, which would cancel the benefit of the earlier lessonsA relative clause referring back to the whole idea, used accurately. A choice would let those who enjoy music continue, while others could try a different activity. In conclusion, I agree that music should be compulsory in the first years, after which children should be able to choose.
Band 8
The case for compulsory music in primary school rests on what an instrument actually trains. I largely agree that it should be compulsory, because the claim about concentration holds, but I would limit the requirement to the early yearsClaim, reason and limit answered in one sentence, when habits of attention are still being formed.
The strongest argument is that an instrument demands a kind of attention that few other tasks ask of a seven-year-oldPitched at one age group, so the claim is measured and exact. A child learning the recorder cannot drift: a note played late is audible to everyone, so the lesson itself corrects a wandering mind. The effect is gradual, but it accumulates over a term. Pupils who have spent ten minutes holding a rhythm are better placed to sit through a reading lesson, since the skill is the same one applied to different materialReason attached inside the sentence, so no extra link is needed.
A second benefit is that music teaches children to work with others. In a class ensemble, each child’s part is incomplete alone, so playing well means listening to the rest and adjusting. The dependence is mutual: the group cannot play without any one of its members, and each child learns that early. This is a lesson in cooperation that a worksheet cannot deliver”This” points at one clear thing, the ensemble experience just described, and it explains why even a reluctant child often values the group performance at the end of term.
The requirement should not continue indefinitely, howeverThe limit promised in the introduction is developed, not just announced. An older pupil forced to continue an instrument may come to resent it, which would undo the very attitude the early lessons builtExact and natural, with no showy word. Those who enjoy music will continue anyway; those who do not are better served by other activities that build the same habits. Compulsory music in the first years, followed by a choice of their own, therefore seems a defensible arrangementNoun phrase with an inserted participle phrase, punctuated cleanly.
What moved the band
The accounts below follow the public band descriptors, as this site paraphrases them. Each quotation comes from the essay of the band named in its sentence.
Task Response
The Band 6 essay takes a side (“I agree with this idea”) and answers the question, but it gives one idea more room. Band 6 offers one sentence of explanation for cooperation: “Children play together so they cooperate and this is a good thing for the society”. Its final position also blurs, because “I think schools should make it compulsory, so this is my opinion” forgets the early-years limit from the introduction.
Band 7 states the limit once and keeps it: “I agree with this view to a large extent, but I think the requirement should apply only to the early years of primary school”. Both ideas are explained, for instance with “because a mistake is heard by the whole class straight away”.
Band 8 closes each idea. Its last paragraph opens with “The requirement should not continue indefinitely, however” and then argues the limit instead of announcing it. Its support is pitched at the case: “a kind of attention that few other tasks ask of a seven-year-old” is a claim a reader could test. The Task Response cell at Band 7 holds the wording this account paraphrases.
Coherence and Cohesion
The Band 6 essay is organised, but its joins are mechanical. In Band 6, “Firstly”, “Secondly” and “In conclusion” do the linking that the ideas should do, and the last paragraph repeats the earlier ones.
Band 7 is logical, with a range of devices placed where they fit: “Another reason” opens the second idea and “However” turns to the limit. Each paragraph is about one thing, though the signposting is still visible as signposting.
Band 8 hands over without labels. Its sentence “since the skill is the same one applied to different material” joins a reason to a claim inside one sentence, and “This is a lesson in cooperation that a worksheet cannot deliver” points back to one clear thing. The Coherence and Cohesion cell at Band 6 describes the mechanical pattern.
Lexical Resource
The Band 6 vocabulary is wide enough for the task and still shows attempts that miss: “do a mistake” has the wrong verb, “beleive” is a spelling slip, and “a good thing for the society” is plain wording with an unneeded article.
Band 7 is flexible and mostly exact. “keep their attention on the music for the whole piece” is a natural pairing, and one slip remains in “better prepared to a reading lesson”, which needs a different preposition.
Band 8 uses words because they are accurate. “undo the very attitude the early lessons built” says what is meant without a rare word, and “audible to everyone” shows precisely why a mistake cannot be hidden. The Lexical Resource cell at Band 8 describes this control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The Band 6 essay mixes simple and complex sentences, and its errors are small and repeated: in Band 6, “it help children” and “When a child learn the recorder” both lose the final s.
Band 7 has several kinds of complex sentence and many are clean. Its sentence “Older pupils who are forced to continue may start to dislike music, which would cancel the benefit of the earlier lessons” uses a passive, a modal and a relative clause accurately.
Band 8 widens the range and most sentences contain no errors. “Compulsory music in the first years, followed by a choice of their own, therefore seems a defensible arrangement” is built around a noun phrase and a participle phrase, and the commas carry the pacing. Compare the Grammatical Range and Accuracy cell at Band 7.
Traps this shape sets
These come from the agree or disagree guide, and each is visible in the Band 6 essay.
- Not testing the reason. The statement says music helps concentration in other lessons. The Band 6 essay says “this is very important for his study” and moves on. It never shows how a skill learned with a recorder reaches a reading lesson.
- Listing instead of developing. Two ideas are given, but the second is named in one sentence and not explained.
- A shifting conclusion. The introduction limits the rule to the early years and the conclusion drops the limit. Read your last paragraph against your first before you stop.
- Letting number words do the work. “Firstly”, “Secondly” and “In conclusion” mark where each paragraph starts, but they say nothing about how the ideas connect.
How to use these essays
Write your own answer to the same prompt first, in 40 minutes. Then read the three essays against yours, one paragraph at a time, and ask which band your paragraph resembles on each of the four criteria.
Next, mark your own script with the same four codes: where you stated your position, where a link carried the logic, where a word fitted exactly and which slips a marker would circle. Do not memorise any sentence from these pages: IELTS.org penalises memorised content, and the exam prompt will not match this one. For a plan that works for any prompt, read the post on Task 2 essay structure, and run your draft through the essay checker for its word count, paragraphs and repeated words.
How the app marks it
IELTS Mentor AI marks a Task 2 essay with an overall Writing band, a band for each of the four criteria and an Examiner’s Summary, followed by what worked and how to improve for each criterion. The editor is timed at 40:00 with a live word count against the 250 minimum, and you can photograph a handwritten answer instead of typing it.
Where this fits
This page belongs to the agree or disagree guide, which explains the shape, and to the Writing test format guide, which covers the whole test. The same exercise is done for the other shapes: discuss both views, problem and solution, advantages and disadvantages and two-part questions. For what the step up to Band 7 takes across all four criteria, see how to get band 7 in IELTS Writing.
Frequently asked questions
Are these IELTS Writing Task 2 sample essays from a real paper?
No. They were written for this site, on an invented prompt, and they were not marked by IELTS. The band each one illustrates is the site's reading of the public band descriptors, not a score that any examiner gave.
Can I memorise the Band 8 essay and use it in the exam?
No. IELTS.org penalises memorised and plagiarised content, and the prompt in your exam will be different, so a learned essay would not answer it. Use the three essays to compare with your own writing, then write about the prompt in front of you.
Why is the Band 8 essay not full of difficult words?
Because the site's paraphrase of the Band 8 descriptors asks for exact meaning, with uncommon words used only where they are the accurate ones. Precision and control separate the bands here. Length and rare vocabulary do not.
Does agreeing or disagreeing change the band?
IELTS publishes nothing that favours either side. The three essays here take the same position, and the difference between them is how clearly it is held, how far each idea is explained and how accurately the sentences are built.
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