Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-06

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 6.5)

People have differing views regarding socialising with work colleagues. Some people believe that socialising with colleagues helps in building strong work relationships. While others thinks that work and social life should be kept separate. In this essay, I will discuss both the views before stating my opinion.

On the one side, people believe that colleagues should meet each other outside the workplace because it helps in developing strong relationship among workers. This can be attributed to the fact that when workers meet outside the workplace they can find common hobbies and interest which can lead to the formation of friendships. This is because employees do not have enough time at work to chat with each other and form bonds. For instance, meeting outside the work let employees to discuss about their personal life. Hence, workers can form special bonds due to the shared trauma or experience. Moreover, finding something common among themselves can make the employees look forward to the work because they feel a sense of partnership.

On the other hand, some people think that employees should keep their personal life separate because it prevents workplace drama and invasion of privacy. This is due to that fact that people often feel colleagues can form biased opinions and perception about the individual. For example, workers can judge their co-workers based on their social status which can impact their personal and mental well-being. In addition, when personal life gets mixed with work it can create unnecessary work drama for the employee. Hence, it can impact their work performance and relationship with colleagues leading to work decreased productivity at work.

In my opinion, workers should keep their personal and work life separate because it can impact the performance of employees.

In conclusion, although some people believe that employees should meet outside, it is individual choice to keep their personal and work life separate. Having separate social life can increase employee's satisfaction at work and personal life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

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 socialising for team bonding and the potential for workplace drama if boundaries are blurred. However, the development is somewhat limited; for instance, the mention of 'shared trauma' is a bit extreme and lacks clear context. The conclusion is a bit repetitive and could have better synthesised the main arguments. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is fully explored with more nuanced examples rather than relying on generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one side', 'Moreover', and 'In addition' are used to guide the reader through the arguments. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that the progression of ideas is smoother. Overall, the structure is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their meaning clearly. There are some attempts at less common collocations, such as 'biased opinions' and 'workplace drama'. However, there are instances of slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'discuss about their personal life' (discuss does not take 'about') and 'work decreased productivity'. The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. Expanding the range of topic-specific vocabulary would enhance the quality of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('others thinks') and awkward phrasing ('This is due to that fact that'). Punctuation is generally correct, but there are minor slips that occur throughout the text. The control of complex structures is inconsistent, and while the errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and preposition usage would be beneficial.

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