Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-13
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 this prevailing era, it is an argued issue whether it is a good idea to spent some quality time with their office staff members during the evenings and weekends, or it is essential to keep difference between working and social life.In this essay I will dicuss both views and also give my personal opinion in the upcoming paragraphs.
Commencing with the former view opine that it is good way to socialise with office colleagues during weekends and evenings because nowadays, people have a hectic schedule, they do not have time to make new friends and socialise with them. Therefore, if they go with them, they can not only express their office feelings to them but also get more time to understand each others. As a result, they have more strong bonding and friendly atomsphere in the office. Moreover, after working a long day, it is good way to spent some time with your office friends or staff. In this way, they can feel more relax and stress free before going home. They can go any park, restaurants, caffe and so on.
Nevertheless, the most salient reason is that why people think keep separate, social and professional life from their office staff because of some confidential information and respect of office rules. For example, every office has some confidential information which is really important to keep save for company's reputation. If workers share their ideas and office information to their staff members during the parties, it would be harmful for company. Secondly, sometimes staff members forget to give respect to their seniors, they behave like more than friends, which is not good for office ambious.They will not follow rules and regualtions. They have become lazy to complete their everyday office work by dint of no fear from their seniors.
In conclusion, even though it is a good way to become friendly with their staff to go outside with them, I believe they should always make a line between their personal and professional life so that they can prevent themselves from any fights or problems.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address both views and give a clear personal position: you explain the benefits of socialising with colleagues, then argue that professional and personal life should remain separate. The examples about sharing confidential company information and losing respect for workplace rules are relevant to the second view. However, the two sides are not developed equally. The benefits paragraph relies on broad claims about busy schedules, stronger bonds and reduced stress, without a specific example or much explanation of how these benefits arise. Your conclusion states your preference, but the possible value of maintaining some social contact is not weighed against the risks. Develop each main reason with a concrete example and explain its significance.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion that restates your opinion. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Nevertheless,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the discussion. Within paragraphs, however, progression is sometimes mechanical, and some references are unclear. For example, “if they go with them” does not clearly identify where colleagues are going, while “the most salient reason is that why people think keep separate” makes the shift to the opposing view difficult to follow. Group related points more tightly and use clear references to people and ideas. This would make the argument flow more naturally rather than relying mainly on signposting phrases.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “confidential information,” “company’s reputation,” “professional life,” and “regulations.” These choices help communicate the main ideas. However, noticeable word-choice, collocation, word-form and spelling errors sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “friendly atomsphere,” “office ambious,” “keep save,” and “feel more relax.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “spent some quality time with their office staff members” and “more strong bonding.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations rather than adding formal-sounding expressions such as “prevailing era” or “salient reason.” Proofreading spelling and checking common collocations would make your vocabulary more precise and easier to understand.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You use both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional sentence beginning “If workers share their ideas…” and a contrast structure with “even though.” This shows an attempt to vary your grammar. However, errors in verb forms, sentence construction, articles, agreement and punctuation occur across the response. For instance, “it is an argued issue whether it is a good idea to spent” has an incorrect verb form, and “people think keep separate” is missing a grammatical structure. The opening also runs into the next sentence without a space after the full stop. These errors sometimes make sentences awkward or unclear, although the main message remains understandable. Practise building accurate clauses first, then check verb forms, articles and sentence boundaries.
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