Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-11

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)

While it is suggested by some that employees should spend their free time even after work and during weekends with their co-workers, others argue that workers should keep their professional and social life separate. Although spending more time with colleagues have both merits and demerits, I believe maintaining a balance between personal and professional likely to be more effective.

One main reason why some people in the favor of spending extra time with coworkers is that they create friendly atmosphere at workplace. When people spend their a large amount of time with their colleagues after working hours, they can strengthen their bonds with each other. In this way, they can create friendly environment at their working areas which assists to reduce conflicts among employees. As a result, they can perform better at their workplace and boost the productivity.

However, according to others, people should keep their working life separate from their social life because it can cause stress. If individuals spend their extra time with their coworkers, they may talk about their work commitments and other work related issues, due to which, they would be unable to enjoy their free time on their favourite activities which can lead to anxiety and stress.

In my opinion, even though spending time with colleagues might be beneficial to some extent, I still believe, individuals can get more advantages if they main balance between their personal and professional life. Instead of spending all the time with coworkers, individuals should spend some time with their family members, which can give them break from their working schedule and divert their mind. In this way, they can build healthy relationship with their loved ones.

In conclusion, the good bonding with colleagues at workplace is understandable because of friendly work environment and reduction in conflicts, I believe that people should not ignore spend some time on their hobbies and build health

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both views and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and logically extended, such as the discussion on workplace productivity versus the risk of burnout. However, the conclusion is incomplete, as the final sentence cuts off abruptly ('build health'), which prevents a fully developed summary. Despite this, the position is consistent throughout the essay, and the main arguments are well-supported with logical reasoning.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the progression of ideas is generally smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'In this way,' 'However,' and 'Instead of' are used effectively to link sentences and ideas. While the overall structure is coherent, the abrupt ending in the final paragraph slightly disrupts the flow and cohesion of the conclusion. Referencing is generally clear, and the logical flow remains easy to follow throughout the body paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There is some attempt to use less common collocations like 'professional and social life' and 'work commitments.' However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and phrasing, such as 'in the favor of' (should be 'in favor of') and 'main balance' (should be 'maintain a balance'). The vocabulary is sufficient to convey meaning, but it lacks the precision and sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'spending more time with colleagues have' (subject-verb agreement error) and 'I believe maintaining a balance... likely to be' (missing verb 'is'). Additionally, there are minor issues with articles and prepositions, such as 'create friendly environment' (missing 'a'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. The writer demonstrates a reasonable control over sentence structure, but more consistent accuracy is needed for a higher score.

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

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