Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-05

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 6.0)

Socialising with co-workers even after working hours is positive which has been believed by many individuals, while others oppose this viewpoint as they think it is vital to keep personal and professional life separately. Although spending time with work colleagues can help to improve social bonding, I think it has a negative affect on personal life.

On the one hand, staying connected with co-workers during leisure time, enhances social bonding. To elaborate, when people get together and spend time, they get to know each other' s hobbies and personal behaviour which makes a friendly environment at work as well. Moreover, they also get to know each other's capabilities which can assist them as a team at work.

On the other hand, spending more time during weekends with colleagues, interrupts family time. To explain, while business hours, people have work stress and tasks to finish, so they do not have sufficient time on weekdays to focus on their family or children. Therefore, investing vacation time with colleagues, spoils the time for their loved ones. For example, in the USA, it has been studied that 70% of the divorce cases are due to work load which reduces their family time, but enhances relationships with co-workers.

To conclude, socialising with work colleagues has a beneficial effec

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum, which prevents a full development of ideas. The conclusion is incomplete, cutting off mid-sentence, which means the task is not fully completed. While the main points regarding social bonding and family time are relevant, they lack the depth and supporting evidence required for a higher band. To improve, you must ensure you meet the word count requirement and provide a complete, well-structured conclusion that summarizes your main points and restates your opinion clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay uses basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' to organize the paragraphs. The logical flow is generally easy to follow, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the structure of a discussion essay. However, the abrupt ending significantly impacts the overall coherence of the piece. To improve, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that your concluding paragraph is fully developed rather than trailing off. Using a wider variety of linking words, such as 'consequently' or 'furthermore', would also help improve the flow between sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the message to be conveyed clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'social bonding', 'professional life', and 'work stress'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'negative affect' (should be 'effect') and 'investing vacation time' (which is slightly unnatural in this context). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited and repetitive. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more precise collocations and less common lexical items related to work-life balance, such as 'maintaining boundaries' or 'professional detachment'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'which has been believed by many individuals' (passive voice is slightly awkward here) and 'while business hours' (should be 'during business hours'). Punctuation is mostly correct, though there are some spacing issues between words. To improve, focus on using a wider range of complex structures with greater accuracy and proofread your work to catch minor errors in prepositions and word forms that currently detract from the overall quality of your writing.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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