Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-07

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)

In the contemporary society, the considerable number of people prefer to hang out after working hours preferably during evenings and weekends. Some like to socialize with their fellow workers while on the other hand some like to keep their social life separate from their personal life. In this essay I will talk about weather one should spend time with the colleague after office timing or spend time other than his fellow worker.

One one hand, spending time with the co-workers even after working hours to some extent may be beneficial but in longer term it has negative impact on ones independent self. You don't have topics to discuss other than related to work and working environment. Due to which entire day you are involve in office politics. Moreover, if a person spends more time with his colleague at some point he might get himself into trouble because you are in constant competition with your co-worker and you don't know when somebody gets the opportunity to spoil your reputation in the working space.

On the other hand, keeping your private life separate is beneficial for mental health. For instance, if you have some work related issue and after work you spend time with other than your co-worker may give you sign of relief for some time away from working environment. In addition, you can talk about on issues other than related to work. You have no fear that someone may pull you down and you can relax yourself away from working environment.

In my opinion, one should balance the work life along side with personal life. Not everyone is your well wisher which is why it is better to spend time with friends and family after work rather than with co-workers. Moreover, there is no harm to spend time with colleague one or twice in a month. In this way one can maintain a good work life balance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both perspectives and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the impact on mental health and the risks of office politics. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'office politics' is mentioned but not fully explored with specific examples or deeper analysis. The position is consistent throughout, but the essay would benefit from more detailed supporting evidence to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes the stance, though it introduces a slight contradiction by suggesting socializing once or twice a month after previously arguing for keeping lives separate.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand', 'Moreover', and 'For instance' are used to link ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally clear, moving from the potential downsides of socializing to the benefits of keeping a private life, and finally to the author's balanced opinion. Referencing is mostly clear, though there are minor issues with pronoun usage, such as 'you' being used to refer to people in general, which can occasionally make the flow feel informal or slightly repetitive.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'working environment', 'office politics', and 'work-life balance'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of awkward phrasing or minor word-choice errors, such as 'weather' (instead of 'whether') and 'sign of relief' (instead of 'sense of relief'). The use of 'well wisher' is also slightly informal. To improve, the student should aim for more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary to demonstrate greater flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the considerable number of people'), subject-verb agreement ('somebody gets'), and prepositions ('talk about on issues'). Some sentences are slightly clunky, such as 'In the contemporary society, the considerable number of people prefer...'. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor errors that occasionally distract the reader. The student demonstrates a reasonable grasp of grammar, but the frequency of errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band, as the control over complex structures is not yet consistent.

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