Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

It is considered by some people that spending time with office team after working hours is normal while, other people believed that personal and professional life should be kept separated. In this essay, I will discuss both views before sharing my opinion.

On the one hand, many people prefer to spend quality time with their office colleagues. Nevertheless, hanging out with office team members improve level of communication and understanding. Additionally, it also built strong bond between the people by spending time in a peaceful atmosphere leaving stressful environment of office behind. For instance, if two office mates make a plan for movie then ultimately, they can share their thoughts during watching film. As a result, they enjoy the moment as well as each other's company hence, their level of friendship become strong.

On the other hand, many people prefer to keep their personal life private due to several reasons. The foremost reason is that they want to give quality time to their family. Additionally, conflicts between the office colleagues is also the main reason behind this. For instance, some people feel more happy when they hangout with their loved once instead of their office colleague because professional gradges resists them to be comfortable with each other.

In my opinion, a person should keep his personal and professional life separately in order to prevent from several issues that might be occurs if he mixes both. However, office mates can not be a well wisher to each other due to the professional politics, favoritism and jealousy. Besides, it is important to give precious time to the family after the working hours to make strong bond with children.

In a nutshell, keeping a balance between family and career life is very important pillar in a person's life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both views and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the benefits of team bonding versus the importance of family time and avoiding office politics. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the point about 'professional politics' in the conclusion is a strong argument but is not fully explored in the body paragraphs. The position is consistent throughout, but the supporting examples, such as the 'movie' scenario, are a bit simplistic. To reach a higher band, ensure that each argument is supported by more detailed reasoning or broader real-world implications.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into four paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand,' 'Additionally,' and 'In a nutshell,' which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel mechanical or slightly repetitive. For instance, the use of 'Additionally' appears in both body paragraphs, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, but there are minor issues with sentence-level cohesion, such as the awkward phrasing in the introduction: 'It is considered by some people that... while, other people believed that...'. Overall, the progression of ideas is coherent.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common collocations, such as 'professional politics' and 'peaceful atmosphere.' However, there are several word-choice errors and inaccuracies, such as 'professional gradges' (grudges), 'resists them' (prevents them), and 'well wisher' (well-wishers). The phrase 'loved once' is a spelling error for 'loved ones.' While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise vocabulary usage and better attention to spelling and word forms to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses and subject-verb agreement. Examples include 'hanging out... improve level' (should be 'improves the level'), 'friendship become strong' (should be 'becomes strong'), and 'might be occurs' (should be 'might occur'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some missing commas and awkward phrasing. While the student attempts complex sentences, the frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the writing from being considered error-free. More focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and tense consistency is recommended.

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

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