Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-21

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)

In recent years employees have been socialising more with their colleagues and few even make good friends at work. They meet each other outside office, go out for dinners and even plan for weekend outings. While some people believe it is a good idea, while others believe that work life and personal life should be kept separate. This essay will discuss both the views and also give my opinion and relevant examples form my very own experience.

On one hand, people believe that socialising with work collegues is a great ides as this makes the workplace a little less boring. Employees spend most of their time at office and create a friendly bond with their colleagues which leads to spending time with each other after hours as well. Additionally, socialsing outside work can create more opportunities as they get to network with people with different skill sets and expand their knowledge. It is beneficial for people who move away from home for work and have no friends in the new city.

Whereas, on the other hand, some people contradict the belief that hanging out with colleages after work hours is a good idea. Since employees spend most of their day at office with their colleagues, the after hours should be dedicated for family members only and for friends outside of work. Some employees keep their personal life separtae from work life to create a work-life balance which is a crucial aspect these days. They liek having their personal space and time which does not involve anything related to work to maintain their sanity.

In my opinion, there is no harm in mixing personal and social life as this is also one kidn of an experience a person can have. For instance, I recently moved to a new city for work where I have no friends and all the good friends I now have are my office colleagues. We always hangout after work and share a great bond with each other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both perspectives and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and supported by personal experience. However, the development of the arguments is somewhat basic. For instance, the point about 'networking' is mentioned but not fully explored in terms of its long-term professional impact. The essay maintains a consistent position throughout, which is a strength. To reach a higher band, you should aim to provide more nuanced analysis of the potential downsides of socialising with colleagues, such as the blurring of professional boundaries or the risk of office politics affecting personal friendships.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organised into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. There is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On one hand', 'Additionally', and 'Whereas' are used effectively to link sentences and paragraphs. However, the referencing is occasionally slightly mechanical, and some transitions could be smoother. For example, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be more sophisticated to better contrast the two opposing views. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to the clarity of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'networking' and 'work-life balance'. However, there are several spelling errors ('colleagues' is misspelled as 'colleages' and 'collegues', 'separate' as 'separtae', 'like' as 'liek', 'kind' as 'kidn'), and some word choices are slightly informal or repetitive. To improve, focus on accuracy in spelling and try to incorporate more precise academic collocations to elevate the tone 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 always clear, there are frequent minor grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('at office' instead of 'at the office') and minor punctuation issues. The sentence structure is generally sound, but there is a lack of variety in complex grammatical forms. To achieve a higher band, you should aim for more error-free sentences and demonstrate a wider range of complex structures, such as conditional sentences or passive voice, while ensuring that the frequency of errors is reduced.

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

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