Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-22

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)

Nowadays, there has been considerable debate whether it is right to spend free time with work colleagues. Some people think it is a good way to strengthen the work relationship. While others argue that working life should always be keep separate from social life.This essay will discuss both views before presenting my own perspective.

On the one side, getting socialize with office colleagues during weekends make their bond more stronger and understandable. This is because when employees meet outside the working areas they could behave in friendly manner. Moreover, they often share their true feelings towards each other which allows them to know about their personal habits and attitude. As a result, a good relationship between work colleagues offers several benefits such as, good team-work and less conflicts. For example, office employees often travel together with their families on vacation where they can enjoy and spend time to strengthen their bond.

On the other side, spending more time with office colleagues could not allow people to disconnect with their work place environment. This is because many individuals often get emotionally connected with work than when they meet their office mates outside they are more likely to talk about office work. Therefore, it is very challenging for them to keep their working life separate from personal life. In addition, one more disadvantage is that spending much time with office colleagues spare very less time to connect with families. Because individuals often spend their weekdays at work they only have weekends with their families. So, if they spend that time also with office members it creates conflicts between their personal relationship.

In conclusion, although getting socialize with work colleagues offers good understanding with office mates which leads to peaceful surrounding at workplace. However, sometimes spending much time with them creates issues in their own personal lives. I believe socializing with office mates would work only if individuals knows their time and personal limits.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on socialising with colleagues and providing a clear personal opinion. The student's position is maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are extended and supported, such as mentioning teamwork, conflicts, and family time. However, there is a tendency to slightly over-generalise and some points, like the benefits of shared vacations, could be further developed with more specific examples. Overall, the task is answered satisfactorily, aligning well with the Band 6.5 to 7.0 range. Because scoring requires whole or half-band increments, the performance fits best at Band 6.5, showing clear engagement with the prompt while leaving room for deeper development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organised into an introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader, such as 'On the one side', 'On the other side', 'In addition', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen in the phrasing 'While others argue that working life should always be keep separate' which creates a sentence fragment, and some transitions feel slightly repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately overall, but the final conclusion sentence contains awkward linking. This corresponds well to Band 6, where cohesion is mostly adequate despite mechanical usage.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'strengthen the work relationship', 'personal habits and attitude', and 'emotionally connected'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the text, including 'getting socialize' instead of 'socialising', 'make their bond more stronger' (double comparative), and 'know about their personal habits'. Spelling is generally accurate, but lexical control is inconsistent. These limitations place the vocabulary firmly in the Band 6 category, where communication remains clear despite inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilising subordinate clauses introduced by 'because', 'although', and 'when'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in tense, voice, and structure, such as 'debate whether it is right', 'always be keep separate', 'getting socialize', 'bond more stronger', and 'individuals knows'. The final sentence also contains a subject-verb agreement issue ('individuals knows'). While these errors do not severely impede communication, they recur frequently enough to prevent the essay from reaching Band 7. The control of grammar aligns best with Band 6.

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

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