Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-12

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In some countries, more and more people are hiring a personal fitness trainer, rather than playing sports or doing exercise classes. What are the reasons for this? Is this a positive or a negative development?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The amount of people preferring a personal trainer, over spending time in sports and exercise classes has been gradually increasing nowadays. While sports and exercise classes not only keep you fit, but also allow you to network, and maintain relationships by spending quality time with your loved ones, having a personal trainer gives you access to more specific body fitness. I personally cannot choose the better one between the two, which is why I would opt for the middle ground.

Firstly, if we talk about sports, it has been a very common interest for a lot of people across all generations. Parents playing football with their kids, friends playing tennis together, co-workers spending time playing golf with each other, and what not? All of these are common examples of how playing sports together allow you to spend quality time together and grow relationships. Sports also help a person learn to take failures while applauding for the winner with the idea of sportsmanship. I believe that this is a very good attitude to carry in a long run in life.

Secondly, exercise classes like gym, Pilates, Zumba, and more which are more body fitness specific also provide you the same as sports. Expanding relationships by spending time with your loved ones or finding new friends through this medium. A lot of fun memories are created during these classes too.

However, hiring a personal trainer is becoming very common in today's date. A personal trainer helps you focus on exercises and trainings that are more specific for your body type. A personal trainer maps out a customised plan for your body fitness based on your demands, and what your body actually needs. They also help with making a personalised diet which is much more effective.

Some people also choose to have a personal trainer because of their introvert or timid natures. They simply prefer to work on their fitness in a private space where they would not be judged. Some people also changed to having a personal trainer so they would not have to commute for hours in a big city and save time. There have also been cases of sexual assaults reported by people going to exercise classes. Now, this is not limited to just the outdoor fitness activities. It can happen with a personal trainer too. But with a personal trainer, a person is at least inside the safety of his/her home.

To conclude, I think both the options are good based on what suits a person the best. For example, if it's too much of a hassle for a person to commute just to reach an outside place to exercise, a personal trainer is a great option. However, it would still be nice to go out once in a while and spend time with your loved ones, playing a sport and create lifetime memories.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing the reasons for hiring a personal trainer and evaluating whether this is a positive or negative development. The introduction introduces the topic and outlines both sides, though the writer's stance ('I personally cannot choose the better one') leans towards a neutral middle ground rather than taking a clear, decisive position throughout, which slightly limits the score for Task Achievement. The reasons for hiring personal trainers (customised plans, tailored diets, safety, privacy, and avoiding commutes) are clearly explained and supported with relevant examples. However, the final evaluation is somewhat inconclusive, affecting overall task fulfillment. Still, the core requirements of the prompt are addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The text is organized with a recognizable logical progression, moving from an introduction to body paragraphs discussing sports, exercise classes, and personal trainers, and concluding with a summary. Paragraphing is utilized appropriately to separate distinct ideas. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally mechanical or faulty. For instance, the fragment '...and what not?' is overly informal and disrupts the flow. Additionally, referencing is sometimes ambiguous, and transitional phrases between paragraphs could be smoother to enhance readability. Despite these mechanical flaws, the overall arrangement remains coherent, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'customised plan', 'sportsmanship', and 'commute'. However, there are noticeable limitations and occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'more specific body fitness', 'introvert or timid natures' (instead of introverted or timid nature), and 'changed to having' (instead of switched to having). While these minor errors do not impede communication, they prevent the response from achieving a higher band. Spelling is generally accurate, and the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and conditional-like examples. However, grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text. Examples include sentence fragments ('All of these are common examples of how playing sports together allow you to spend quality time together and grow relationships'), awkward phrasing ('carry in a long run in life'), and minor subject-verb agreement slips. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the persistence of structural errors means that while communication is rarely impeded, the grammar lacks the frequent error-free sentences required for a Band 7.

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