Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-02

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)

It is often argued that some persons think that it is a good idea to socialize with colleagues during evenings and weekends. Where as others contend that it is important to keep working life completely separate from social life, while both perspectives have some merit, I believe that it is important to be social at work but boundaries needs to be kept, by not mixing business with pleasures.

Firstly, It is beneficial when we socialize with colleague at work during evenings and weekends. This is because it creates a friendly and homely impression of you, which your working colleague sees you as a friend instead of the usual up tight colleague and this tends to make everyone flow with one another, especially when you are someone with no friends group. For example, in 2020 I remember working in my previous company I had this male colleague who always initiate outings and dates every weekends, I was okay with that which I realized it made me more comfortable at work with him. This is because aside workloads, I have someone I can talk to and ask questions relating to hard task that has been assign to me. Also outside work he has helped me severally when I needed him. I was new to that city where I was previously working as a receptionist, he sometimes gets me emergency drugs when I get sick and unable to walk. I saw him as a friend and not just a colleague.

Secondly, there is an African adage that says ''THERE IS TIME FOR EVERYTHING'' which I strongly believe socializing with work colleagues during evenings and weekends can create unnecessary drama in your personal life. Especially if you are a very reserved person. It has been proven countless times how majority of work colleagues envy your position and uses every means to know your weak points , so they uses it against you. Which the only way is to get to know you personally outside works. For example, my sister was the HR to an Ai company in south Africa, which drew a lot of attention and hatred cause she was a Nigerian who was doing better than an average south African citizen getting a good position which was later betrayed by a colleague who she made friends with at work and attend evening hangout after work. The said colleague lied on her and made her loose the Job. However, I strongly believe you can be friendly at work and still maintain boundaries by keeping social life separate from work with colleagues.

In conclusion, although been friendly at work may have certain advantages, I believe that creating boundaries reduces high risk of over familiarity.

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 anecdotes, which helps in developing the argument. However, the development is somewhat uneven; the second body paragraph relies heavily on a specific narrative that borders on being anecdotal rather than a general discussion of the topic. While the position is clear throughout, the explanation of the 'middle ground' could be more nuanced to reach a higher band. Overall, the response is well-focused on the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, the use of some cohesive devices is slightly mechanical, and there are instances where the flow between sentences is a bit abrupt, such as the transition into the example about the sister. Referencing is generally clear, but some sentences are slightly disjointed due to punctuation errors, which occasionally impacts the smooth progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are attempts to use less common items like 'over familiarity' and 'contend', though some word choices are slightly awkward or imprecise, such as 'homely impression' (which usually means cozy/domestic rather than friendly) and 'flow with one another'. There are also minor errors in collocation, such as 'made her loose the Job' (should be 'lose'). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but lacks the precision and sophistication required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('boundaries needs to be kept'), article usage, and punctuation (e.g., unnecessary capitalization of 'THERE IS TIME FOR EVERYTHING'). Some sentences are run-on or lack proper clause connection, such as 'Which the only way is to get to know you personally outside works.' While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Greater attention to proofreading for basic syntax is recommended.

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