Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-05

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)

In contemporary era, socialising with colleagues during evenings and weekends is an highly debateable issue. Some people believe that socialisation is beneficial for overall entertainment of the workers. while, others oppose this notion. I firmly believe that weekends and evening time should be spent with your family.

Normally, employees spend around eight to ten hours in office a day. Everyone in the house expect their breadwinners to spend the great evening and a good dinner with them. On weekends, people should make plans with their family and friends. Everybody needs an escape from their daily routine and try to spend time other then workplace. For peace of mind and calmness, people should have a circle of friends other then the people at workplace. you can talk to other people about your work and related stresses without being judged and fear.

Furthermore, staying around same people for long time makes you feel stuck and chances of mental growth are reduced. some people still believe that you build a strong bond with your co workers when you hangout with them after office hours. however, staying around too much with coworkers invite toxicity and lack of boundaries which make the work ethics difficult

In conclusion ,although it makes a strong bond with coworkers but still a person should have plans outside the coworking space. It makes the mental health of employees good. Employees refrain from gossiping about working space and it reduces grouping among coworkers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task only partially. While you present your own opinion clearly and discuss both views regarding socialising with colleagues versus keeping work and personal life separate, your ideas remain limited and under-developed. For instance, the notion that spending time with coworkers invites toxicity is mentioned briefly without sufficient extension or supporting examples. Furthermore, it is important to note a critical administrative shortfall: the response contains only 242 words, failing to meet the minimum requirement of 250 words. To achieve a higher band, you must fully develop all parts of the prompt with detailed explanations and ensure you meet the required word count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion into distinct sections. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by mechanical or faulty cohesion. Phrases like 'while, others oppose this notion' and abrupt shifts between sentences create a slightly disjointed flow. Pronoun referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as the use of lowercase 'you' mid-sentence in the second paragraph. To move to a higher band, you need to ensure a smoother, more natural logical progression throughout the text and use a wider variety of cohesive devices more accurately without mechanical repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating your general thoughts on work-life balance. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices that detract from the quality of the writing. For example, terms like 'debateable', 'socialisation' used in place of socialising, and phrases such as 'great evening' or 'working space' instead of workplace show occasional inaccuracies. Additionally, capitalization errors such as 'coworkers' appear throughout. To reach a higher band, you should aim to build a more flexible lexical resource and incorporate less common vocabulary with greater precision regarding style and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Your writing displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple or straightforward complex forms. There are frequent grammatical errors in article usage, punctuation, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'is an highly debateable issue', 'staying around same people', and 'makes the mental health of employees good'. Capitalisation at the beginning of sentences and clauses is also inconsistently handled, as seen in 'some people still believe'. These frequent errors require some effort for the reader to interpret. To achieve a higher band, you need to demonstrate a greater mix of error-free complex structures and tighter control over basic grammatical patterns.

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

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