Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-03
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)
Many people have the opinion that it is beneficial to socialise with the office workers during evenings and weekends. But other people have different perspective and value to keep boundaries completely between personal life and social life. The substantial influence of the controversy has sparked its impact over the recent years. According to my perspective the former notion seems to be more rational, and my essay will further elaborate my opinion.
The first and foremost reason behind this notion is that, we are living in a digital era and trend of nuclear families is significantly increasing. Due to this trend people seldom meet each other like before as in past in joint family system. Therefore, there is a need for people to make friends and mostly people prefer office friends. The other reason is that office friends become more reliable than others. It also enhance the social intelligence of the people. Their work ethics promote moreover, they they become collaborated. On the other hand, if people do not meet their office workers often they may have some friendship or collaboration problems. Which in the long run can effect badly on their progress. Therefore, it is recommended to be social in the
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, as it is only 201 words long. This significantly impacts the development of ideas, leading to an incomplete conclusion and an abrupt ending. While you address both sides of the argument and state a clear position, the arguments are under-developed. For instance, the point about 'nuclear families' is mentioned but not effectively linked to the necessity of office friendships. To improve, you must expand on your reasoning with more specific examples and ensure the essay is fully completed to meet the length requirement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay shows some attempt at logical organization, using transition signals like 'The first and foremost reason' and 'On the other hand'. However, the progression is hindered by the incomplete nature of the text. Paragraphing is present, but the final paragraph is cut off mid-sentence, which disrupts the overall flow. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'The substantial influence of the controversy', which lacks a clear antecedent. To improve, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that ideas are fully developed before moving to the next point.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. You use some relevant terms like 'nuclear families' and 'social intelligence', but there are issues with collocation and word choice, such as 'office workers' (colleagues is more natural) and 'effect badly' (should be 'affect'). Some phrasing is slightly awkward, such as 'value to keep boundaries'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and ensuring that words are used in their correct grammatical context.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'value to keep boundaries' (should be 'value keeping'), 'it also enhance' (subject-verb agreement error), and 'they they become collaborated' (repetition and incorrect word form). Punctuation is generally functional, but the incomplete ending makes it difficult to assess the full range of your grammatical control. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and proofreading for repetitive words or minor slips that occur during drafting.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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