Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-24

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)

Recently, an increasing number of people contend that socialising with work colleagues in evenings and weekends is a positive idea, while others argue that it is not a best idea to mix work life and social life. From my perspective, spending some leisure time with colleagues during weekends and evenings has more advantages. This essay explores the tension between two opposing opinions.

On the one hand, socialising with colleagues has several merits especially in their free time. Firstly, the get-together often reduces stress specifically after a long and demanding day. Working with stress often results in reduction of efficiency . Secondly, meetings in leisure time strengthens the friendship and bond among the colleagues which increases the overall teamwork productivity.

On the other hand, some individuals presume that mixing of social life and working life is not the best idea.

This might be due to a number of reasons. Primarily, individuals especially family members think that the person working in a company may spend hours already, so they want to spend time with the staff (family member) in the evenings or weekends. Furthermore, talking about work with a colleague can prevent people from mentally switching off from thinking of work. Keeping social life separate allows them to return to work refreshed. For instance, being too close to colleagues can create conflicts or uncomfortable situations, so the personal relationships can affect professional decisions.

The above evidence strongly suggests that there might be some drawbacks of socialising with colleagues during evenings or weekends instead of their family members or other individuals. I strongly believe that in this situation a mixed approach would be better for both colleagues and family members.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all parts of the prompt by discussing both views and providing your own opinion. Your position is clear from the introduction, though the conclusion is slightly abrupt. The ideas are relevant, but some points, such as the impact on professional decisions, could be developed further with more specific examples to reach a higher band. You have successfully balanced the two perspectives, but ensure that your own opinion is more explicitly integrated into the body paragraphs rather than just the introduction and conclusion to demonstrate a more cohesive argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with clear paragraphing. You use transition signals such as 'On the one hand', 'Firstly', and 'Furthermore' to guide the reader through your arguments. However, some cohesive devices feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing in the second body paragraph—specifically the parenthetical explanation '(family member)'—is a bit awkward and disrupts the flow. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the transition between the two opposing views and your own synthesis in the final paragraph could be smoother to achieve a more sophisticated level of cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'demanding', 'productivity', and 'professional decisions'. However, there are some instances of slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'not a best idea' and 'mixing of social life'. To improve, focus on more precise collocations and idiomatic expressions. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the variety and sophistication required for higher bands. Expanding your use of topic-specific synonyms would help elevate your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'in evenings and weekends' (should be 'in the evenings and on weekends') and 'the get-together often reduces stress specifically after a long and demanding day' (which is slightly clunky). Punctuation is mostly accurate, but there are minor errors in article usage and prepositional phrases. You have good control over basic structures, but more consistent accuracy in complex sentences is needed to reach the next band level.

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