Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-14

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 6.5)

Although some people think that it's a good idea to go out and about with your co-workers after work, while others believe that professional life and personal life should not be inter-mixed. In my opinion, balance and boundaries are key factors here and socialising with colleagues can actually bring the team closer.

On the one hand, relaxing with coworkers after working hours or over the holidays takes some stress away from the hectic working hours. People are able to sit down and talk about things other than their work responsibilities, and are able to conect to each other as friends rather than just colleagues. They can share experiences or life lessons with each other in a calmer setting.

On the other hand, it is beleived to be better to keep a barrier between work life and personal life. When personal life mixes with your professional life, private stories can sometimes turn into office jokes when told to the wrong person. This can furthermore, create a hostile and negative work environment. Unnecessary grouping can also be formed as a result of this as some coworkers might meet more often than others.

Finally, in my opinion, balance is the key here. Socialising with coworkers has it's own benefits as it can bring the team closer and more comfortable with each other. Criticism can be given and recieved in a poitive way as well because one would know what the other person means. It can also promote healthier competition amoung colleagues.

In conclusion, depsite people having different views, I believe it would be better to maintain boundaries and have the right balance between your personal time and your work time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both views and give a consistent opinion: socialising can strengthen the team, but boundaries and balance matter. The discussion of separation is supported with relevant risks, such as private stories becoming office jokes and groups forming among colleagues. The benefits are also clear, particularly reducing stress and helping coworkers relate as friends. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, “healthier competition” is introduced without showing how socialising would create it, and the final preference for boundaries is not fully reconciled with your support for socialising. To move further, explain the conditions under which socialising is beneficial and develop each example so the reasoning behind it is explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two contrasting body paragraphs, your opinion, and a conclusion. “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” make the discussion easy to follow, and the main position is repeated at the end. Some cohesion is less controlled, however. “Finally” introduces another opinion paragraph after the discussion, although the conclusion follows immediately afterwards, making the ending feel slightly repetitive. The opening sentence also uses “Although” and “while” together, which makes the relationship between the two views awkward. Improve progression by integrating your opinion into the relevant body paragraphs and using clearer links between each claim and its explanation.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “professional life,” “hostile and negative work environment,” “barrier,” and “boundaries.” These choices help communicate both the benefits and risks of workplace socialising. There are also several spelling errors, including “conect,” “beleived,” “recieved,” “poitive,” “amoung,” and “depsite,” which reduce accuracy. Some expressions are understandable but imprecise or unnatural, such as “Unnecessary grouping” and “Criticism can be given and received in a positive way.” Aim for more precise collocations and check spelling carefully; for instance, explain that informal contact may build trust or make feedback easier to accept rather than relying on broad phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including the conditional clause “When personal life mixes with your professional life” and the reason clause “because one would know what the other person means.” Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems are present. The opening sentence combines “Although” with “while,” leaving its structure incomplete or awkward. In “This can furthermore, create,” the comma is misplaced, and “Socialising with coworkers has it's own benefits” uses an incorrect possessive form. There is also a shift between general “people” and direct “your” in the discussion. Work on complete clause structures, punctuation around linking adverbs, and consistent pronoun use while continuing to practise varied sentence patterns.

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