An IELTS discuss both views essay at Band 6, 7 and 8
Quick answer
This page answers one invented discuss both views prompt three times, at Band 6, 7 and 8, with the same opinion and the same two views, and marks the phrases that earn or lose marks. For this shape, what most often separates the bands is whether both views get a developed paragraph and the opinion is given a reason and kept to the last line, not only labelled.
In the app, a Task 2 essay is marked with a band for each of the four criteria and an Examiner's Summary, so you can see whether both views and your opinion registered.
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On this page
This page takes one invented discuss both views prompt and answers it three times, at Band 6, Band 7 and Band 8. The three essays share one opinion, the same two views 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 discuss both views questions; it is a label from practice material, not an IELTS category.
The 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 discuss the same two views and give the same opinion. What changes is how fully each view is developed, how the opinion is supported and how accurately the sentences are built.
- The Band 6 essay covers both views and gives an opinion, but the second view is thin and the conclusion repeats the introduction.
- The Band 7 essay develops both views, ties the second back to the opinion and keeps one position throughout, with a slip or two left in.
- The Band 8 essay is not longer or harder in vocabulary. Its opinion is argued, and its paragraphs hand over without labels.
The prompt
This prompt is invented for practice and is not from a past paper.
Some people think that children learn more from playing outdoors. Others believe that time indoors with books and educational games is more useful. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
The question has three jobs: the first view, the second view and your opinion. All three essays follow this plan:
- Opinion: outdoor play matters more for young children, and indoor learning builds on it.
- View one (outdoors): physical and social learning. The example is a group building a shelter from branches.
- View two (indoors): knowledge and language that play does not supply. The example is a child reading a story about the sea.
- Conclusion: the two are not opposed, and the order depends on the child’s age.
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
In the modern world, people have different opinions about how children learn best. Many parents also ask this question when their children start school. Some people think that outdoor play is better, but other people think that books and games inside the house are more useful. In my opinion, I think both are important, but playing outside is more important.
FirstlyFirstly and Secondly are the only links between the body paragraphs, many people say that playing outside is good for children. When children play in the enviromentSpelling: should be “environment”, they can run and jump and this is good for the health. They can also see nature and breathe fresh air. Also, they learn to play with other children. For example, a group of children make a house from branches and they work together. This is a good experience for them.
Secondly, other people think that children should stay inside and read books or play educational games. Nowadays children have many games on the computer and some of them are good. They say that books give children knowledge and this is important for school. Children can read about many things in the books and this is usefulIdea named but not explained: no example of what a book teaches that play does not. Also the games isSubject-verb agreement: should be “the games are” good for the mathematics.
However, I think playing outside is more important for small children. They need to do friendsWrong verb: should be “make friends” and they are too much youngWrong word order: should be “too young” to sit for a long time. When they are older, books will become more important.
In conclusionOnly signal of a closing paragraph, which then repeats earlier points, both views have some good points and children need both kinds of learning. I think outdoor play is more important, as I said beforeThe conclusion repeats the introduction and gives no new reason for the order. It is a difficult question but I think it is true.
Band 7
People disagree about how children learn best. Some believe that playing outdoors teaches more, while others argue that time indoors with books and educational games is more useful. Each view has some truth, so the answer depends on what is being learned. I think both matter, but outdoor play matters more for young childrenOpinion stated in one sentence a reader can repeat back.
Supporters of outdoor play point out that children learn physical and social skills there. When a group builds a shelter from branches, they have to agree who does what, and they find out for themselves which branches will holdConcrete, natural phrasing that makes the example specific. This kind of learning by testing is difficult to copy in a classroom, and it teaches children to cooperate and to solve problems by their ownPhrase slip: should be “on their own”. They also get exercise, which helps them to sleep and to concentrate later in the day.
On the other handMarks the turn to the second view; the paragraph keeps to that view, supporters of indoor learning argue that books give children knowledge that play does not supply. A child who reads a story about the sea meets words and facts that no playground would offer, and structured games can practise numbers and spelling in a way that holds attention. Reading also builds the patience needed for longer tasks. Even so, this knowledge is easier to absorb when a child already has experience to attach it toA concession followed by a “when” clause, accurate and tied back to the opinion.
For these reasons, I believe outdoor play should come first for young children. Parents and teachers should therefore protect time outdoors, especially in the early years. A child who has built, climbed and argued with friends reads about those things with more understandingThe opinion is supported with a reason, not just repeated. In conclusionFits here but is slightly over-used as a signal, the two views are not opposed, because indoor learning builds on what outdoor play begins.
Band 8
Children learn in different settings, and the real question is what each setting teaches best. Each view contains a real truth, and the disagreement is mostly about order. I take the view that outdoor play matters more for young children, while accepting that books supply something play cannotOpinion in one sentence, with the other view acknowledged and answered.
Those who favour outdoor play are right that it teaches skills that cannot be handed over in words. When a group builds a shelter from branches, it must agree who does what and discover, by failing, which branches will holdA precise verb and an economical phrase. That kind of learningPoints back at the shelter, one clear thing is difficult to stage in a classroom, because the consequences are real: a roof that collapses teaches more quickly than any warning against it. Physical effort has a second benefit: a child who has spent an hour running tends to settle more easily afterwards.
Advocates of indoor study make an equally serious point. Books and structured games give children a vocabulary and a store of facts that no playground suppliesPrecise nouns; each says what is actually gained. A child who has read about the sea meets tides, currents and unfamiliar words that conversation among friends will rarely produce, and a well-designed number game can practise skills that unstructured play leaves untouchedParallel structure, balanced and accurate. Neither of these gains is trivial, and a school day without them would be poorer.
The two are not equals at every age, howeverThe opinion is argued: the order depends on the child’s age. A child who has built, climbed and argued with friends reads about those things with understanding, whereas reading that comes first has nothing to attach itself to. Outdoor play should therefore come first, with indoor learning building on what it beginsParticipial phrase closing the opinion neatly. Parents can act on this by protecting outdoor time in the early years and adding structured reading as the child grows.
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 does all three jobs, but unevenly. Band 6 gives the first view an example (“a group of children make a house from branches and they work together”) and the second view a general sentence: “Children can read about many things in the books and this is useful”. The opinion is stated, then repeated: “I think outdoor play is more important, as I said before” adds no reason.
Band 7 develops both views and then uses the second to support the opinion: “A child who has built, climbed and argued with friends reads about those things with more understanding”. The opinion is clear in “I think both matter, but outdoor play matters more for young children” and does not move.
Band 8 argues its opinion instead of labelling it. “The two are not equals at every age, however” opens a paragraph that explains why the order matters. Its fairness to the second view shows in “Advocates of indoor study make an equally serious point”. See the Task Response cell at Band 7.
Coherence and Cohesion
The Band 6 essay is organised but mechanical. “Firstly”, “Secondly” and “In conclusion” carry the structure in Band 6, and the last paragraph repeats the first.
Band 7 uses a range of links where they fit. “On the other hand” marks the turn to the second view, and each paragraph holds one topic. The closing “In conclusion” is a little over-used.
Band 8 hands over without labels. In Band 8, “That kind of learning” points back at the shelter, and “The two are not equals at every age, however” turns the whole essay toward its opinion with a short sentence and no formula. The Coherence and Cohesion cell at Band 6 describes the mechanical pattern.
Lexical Resource
The Band 6 vocabulary is adequate and several choices miss: “enviroment” is misspelt, “do friends” has the wrong verb, and “too much young” is a word-order slip. A reader still understands each one.
Band 7 is more flexible. “for themselves which branches will hold” makes the example concrete, and “by their own” is the occasional slip that Band 7 allows.
Band 8 chooses words for accuracy. “a vocabulary and a store of facts that no playground supplies” names what is gained, and “discover, by failing, which branches will hold” is exact and economical. Nothing in Band 8 is rare for its own sake. The Lexical Resource cell at Band 8 describes this control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The Band 6 essay mixes simple and complex sentences, and most of its complex ones are plain coordination. In Band 6, “Also the games is” has an agreement slip, and “this is good for the health” shows an unneeded article.
Band 7 adds variety: “Even so, this knowledge is easier to absorb when a child already has experience to attach it to” is a concession followed by a clause with “when”, and it is accurate.
Band 8 widens the range and alternates long and short sentences on purpose. “and a well-designed number game can practise skills that unstructured play leaves untouched” balances two ideas, and “Outdoor play should therefore come first, with indoor learning building on what it begins” ends on a participle phrase. Compare the Grammatical Range and Accuracy cell at Band 7.
Traps this shape sets
These come from the discuss both views guide, and each is visible in the Band 6 essay.
- Describing instead of discussing. The second view is a statement (“books give children knowledge”) with no reason it matters and no example, so it is described, not discussed.
- An opinion with no reason. The introduction says playing outside is more important, and the conclusion says it again. The reason that makes it the writer’s view appears only in the short fourth paragraph.
- Only one job done well. The first view has an example and the second does not, which is the Band 6 pattern of one part getting more room.
- Letting number words do the work. “Firstly”, “Secondly” and “In conclusion” say where each paragraph starts, not how the views relate.
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 opinion, 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 discuss both views 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: agree or disagree, 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 discuss both views sample essays from a real IELTS paper?
No. They were written for this site on an invented prompt, and IELTS did not mark them. The band each essay illustrates is the site's reading of the public band descriptors, not a score given by an examiner.
Can I reuse the Band 8 essay or its phrases in the exam?
No. IELTS.org penalises memorised and plagiarised content, and your exam prompt will be different, so a learned essay would not answer it. Compare your own writing with these three, then answer the prompt you are given.
Where should my opinion go in a discuss both views essay?
IELTS publishes no fixed place. In all three essays here it is stated near the start and argued at the end, so a reader has a position to follow. The three differ in how much reasoning supports it.
Does the Band 8 essay give both views equal space?
Not exactly. Both views get a developed paragraph, and the opinion leans one way. The public wording for the lower bands warns against one part getting far more room than another, which is a different matter from equal length.
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