Single-sex schools or mixed schools
This is a model answer written to show what a Band 7 response looks like against the marking criteria. It is a worked example, not a graded submission. To see your own band, paste your writing into the free checker.
The prompt
Some people believe that boys and girls learn better in single-sex schools, while others argue that mixed schools prepare children better for adult life. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Band 7 model answer (268 words)
Parents choosing a school often face a basic question: should their children be educated separately from the opposite sex, or alongside it? Supporters of each model make reasonable claims, but I believe mixed schools serve children better overall.
Advocates of single-sex education argue that it removes distraction and allows teaching to be tailored. Teenagers concentrate more readily when they are not performing for an audience of the opposite sex, and teachers can adapt their methods to how boys or girls typically respond. Some also point to girls being more willing to speak up in science classes when no boys are present, which suggests separation can build confidence in subjects where stereotypes still linger.
Those who favour mixed schools reply that classrooms should resemble the world children will actually enter. Almost every workplace, university and community contains both men and women, and a school is where young people first learn to cooperate, disagree and form friendships across that line. Students who spend their entire childhood apart from the opposite sex can find these ordinary interactions awkward precisely when they matter most.
In my judgement, the second view carries more weight. The confidence gains claimed for single-sex classrooms can be achieved within mixed schools through good teaching and smaller discussion groups, whereas the social experience of a mixed school cannot be replicated artificially. Preparation for real life is not a side benefit of education; it is one of its purposes.
In conclusion, although single-sex schooling offers some academic advantages, mixed schools develop both learning and the social maturity children will depend on, and I believe they are the better choice.
Why this reaches Band 7
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Task Response
Both positions receive fair, developed treatment, and the writer's opinion does real work: it explains why one side's benefits are replaceable ("can be achieved within mixed schools") and the other's are not, rather than just picking a team.
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Coherence and Cohesion
The opening question frames the whole essay, each body paragraph handles one view, and phrases such as "Those who favour mixed schools reply" create a genuine sense of dialogue between the positions.
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Lexical Resource
Flexible, less common language like "stereotypes still linger", "replicated artificially" and "social maturity" is deployed accurately and in context.
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Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Sophisticated structures, including the framing question in the opening line and the balanced clause "cooperate, disagree and form friendships across that line", with barely any errors.
The one fix to reach Band 7
What usually holds this essay at Band 6 is an opinion that merely repeats one of the two views. The Band 7 move is to add a comparative reason, showing why the preferred view survives the other side's best argument, as this answer does with the point about confidence being achievable in mixed classrooms.
Now check your own answer.
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