Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-28

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people think that it’s a good idea to socialise with work colleagues during evenings and weekends. Other people think it’s important to keep working life completely separate from social life.

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 7.0)

Many people believe that spending time with colleagues outside working hours is beneficial, while others argue that work and personal life should be kept completely separate. According to me occasional socializing with colleagues is the best approach.

One main reason why people believe it is a good idea to socialize with work colleagues is that it helps to build stronger relationship. When employees spend time together outside the working hours, they can get to know each other at better level which can build trust and improve communication. As a result, they are more like to cooperate effectively and solve problems more effectively at work. For instance, a colleague who have attended the team dinner, games and participate in activities often enhance team work and positive work environment. Also socializing with colleagues often provide career growth.

However, some people argue that it is important to keep working life separate from personal life because everyone need time to relax and focus on their personal relationships. Attending to many work related informal meetings can lead to stress and eventually affect mental and physical well-being. Also spending to much time with co-workers might create interpersonal conflict which can affect on work performance. Instead of that persona who spent free time with their loved ones will have more positive energy when they return to work. For example, person who spent time with their families will be more happy as they would have created good memories relaxed with them whereas person who is spending more time with their colleagues might not get time to switch off from their work zone which create stress.

In conclusion, I believe it is beneficial to spending time occasionally with colleagues but it should not be obligation. Although, spending time with co-workers helps to build trust and improve communication, spending time with families often reduce the stress and gives positive energy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both perspectives and providing a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The ideas are relevant, such as the benefits of team bonding versus the necessity of personal downtime. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat repetitive, and the supporting examples, while present, could be more specific to reach a higher band. For instance, the mention of 'team dinner' is a good start, but the explanation of how it specifically impacts productivity could be more nuanced. The position is consistent throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'One main reason', 'However', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, there is some mechanical use of these devices, and some transitions between sentences feel slightly abrupt. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional phrasing, such as 'Instead of that persona', is slightly awkward and impacts the flow. Overall, the progression of ideas is coherent, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'interpersonal conflict', 'cooperate effectively', and 'work-life balance' (implied). However, there are some word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'at better level' instead of 'at a better level' and 'spending to much time' (spelling error). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but more precise and varied vocabulary would be needed for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'a colleague who have attended', 'everyone need time') and article usage. There are also issues with verb forms, such as 'it is beneficial to spending time' instead of 'to spend time'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. More attention to proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would be beneficial.

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