Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-07

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 6.5)

Some argue that friendly meet up with your co workers after office hours is wise while others argue that, work relationships should be seperate from your personal relationships. While I understand the hassle some face when the lines are blurred between the two, I am largely of the opinion that your colleagues can also be your friends and they can bring about a pleasant change to your work and social gatherings.

Socialising with your co workers outside of office can bring about some challenges. In some cases, it can cause distress. If your social circle is the same as your work circle, you maybe constantly talking about work and may not be able to unwind from your professional life. Co workers may ask you for updates outside of work which may prevent you from taking a break your body and mind needs from your office tasks. Furthermore, your colleagues may take advantage of you due to your informal relationship with them. For example, they may delay attending meetings on time and submitting tasks under the promised timelines. As a result, it can put a strain on your work and personal relationships with them.

Having the same social circle at work and office can also bring about several advantages. The workplace may seem less daunting and one tends to look forward to coming into work if you are surrounded by positive relations. For example, you've had a difficult meeting with a stakeholder who gave you a hard time. Gather than worrying about it constantly, you go to your work friend and share your unpleasant experience. Since they also know the nature of this stakeholder, they maybe able to give you solid advice and guidance.

While there are sufficant examples to state why having the same social circle is unhealthy, I would like to conclude that many a times it may not be the case. If your colleagues respect your boundaries, then, socialising with them is of paramount importance to destress and make work more enjoyable.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both views and make your own position clear: you acknowledge the risks of blurred boundaries but conclude that colleagues can be friends if they respect those boundaries. The examples about work requests after hours and advice after a difficult stakeholder meeting are relevant and help explain both sides. This meets the task well, but the two perspectives are not developed equally: the disadvantages receive several consequences, while the benefits are mainly illustrated through one scenario. The conclusion also refers to “sufficient examples” of the drawbacks being unhealthy, although the essay has presented benefits as well. To strengthen the response, explain more fully why some people deliberately keep work and social life separate, and develop the benefits beyond the single example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your position, separate body paragraphs discuss the drawbacks and benefits, and a conclusion returns to your view. Ideas generally progress logically, and linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “For example,” and “As a result” help show relationships between points. This is a coherent arrangement, though some connections are mechanical or unclear. In the final paragraph, “While there are sufficient examples to state why…” does not accurately signal the contrast that follows, and “many a times” makes the conclusion less direct. The first body paragraph also moves quickly from difficulty unwinding to colleagues taking advantage, without explaining the link between these concerns. Use more precise transitions and make the relationship between each example and its main point explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “blurred,” “unwind,” “take advantage,” “strain,” and “stakeholder.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and some phrases show an attempt to express nuanced effects on work and personal life. However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “friendly meet up,” “promised timelines,” and “paramount importance” in this context. There are also spelling errors, including “seperate” and “sufficant,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural combinations and check spelling carefully; for example, use “socialise with colleagues,” “agreed deadlines,” and “important for relieving stress” where appropriate. Greater precision would make the argument sound more fluent and controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional and subordinate clauses: “If your social circle is the same as your work circle…” and “Since they also know the nature of this stakeholder…”. Most sentences remain understandable, and the range supports explanation and examples. Some grammatical errors persist, however. In “you maybe constantly talking,” the modal construction should be “you may be constantly talking”; “a break your body and mind needs” is missing “that”; and “if you are surrounded” shifts from the general subject “one.” Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly the comma after “argue that” and the comma after “then” in the conclusion. Review modal forms, clause construction, and consistent pronoun use to improve accuracy.

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