Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-14

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 5.0)

There are split opinions regarding socialization during leisure time. Some people think that socializing with colleagues is a good idea, whereas another group of thinkers supports the idea that social life must be separated from working life. However, both have their own pros and cons. Therefore, before giving my own decision, both views are discussed in ensuring paragraph.

Examining the former opinion, the primary argument the supporters would put forward is comfortable company. This is because individuals are not only already aware of each other's eating habits, but they can also trust each other blindly. To exemplify, people can arrange social gatherings easily because they share almost the same availability after work. Thus, individuals can discuss their new project and perform better than other teams, which enhances the company's productivity and profit every year.

On the contrary, the latter view suggests that a new environment and mindset because other friends are working in different departments and have various knowledge about everything. To substantiate this, when you plan your days with other people, it is a symbol of making bonds strong and receiving help in bad times regarding their fields. Therefore, people can thing out of box and find relief from their hectic schedule after axperience of different world.

To recapitulate, although spending time with work colleague comfortable company and promotes blind trust, socializing with other friends gives relief from a hectic schedule and provides experience of a different world, allowing thinking out of box.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both views regarding socialising with colleagues and maintaining a separation between work and personal life, and provides a personal opinion, albeit brief. However, the length requirement is not met, as the student's response contains 244 words, which falls short of the 250-word minimum. This under-length impacts the overall development of ideas. While the introduction outlines the two views, the body paragraphs, particularly the discussion on the second view, contain underdeveloped arguments and slightly confused explanations regarding spending time with friends in different departments. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed in terms of thorough development, resulting in a band score of 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay has a basic structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the logical progression is hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'both views are discussed in ensuring paragraph' and 'suggests that a new environment and mindset because other friends...'. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes inaccurately or mechanically, as seen with 'To substantiate this' and 'To recapitulate'. Paragraphing is present, but the overall flow feels disjointed and some sentences are difficult to follow due to missing verbs or awkward transitions. The referencing is not always clear, leading to a band score of 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for basic communication, but it is limited and sometimes repetitive. The student attempts some less common phrases, such as 'blindly trust', 'hectic schedule', and 'thinking out of box', but these are often used with minor inaccuracies or awkward collocations. There are also noticeable word-choice errors, such as 'thinking out of box' missing an article and 'after axperience of different world' containing a spelling error ('axperience'). While the meaning is generally conveyed, the lexical range is restricted and errors cause some difficulty for the reader, placing it at a band score of 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing verbs in sentences like 'spending time with work colleague comfortable company' and 'suggests that a new environment and mindset because other friends are working'. Faulty clause structures and preposition errors are also present, such as 'regarding their fields' and 'after axperience of different world'. These frequent errors can cause difficulty for the reader and prevent the text from achieving a higher band, resulting in a score of 5.0.

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