Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 recent years, socialising has developed in different ways. While some people believe it is great to be social with your work colleagues during off hours like evenings and weekends, there is still a percent of people that believe in having both work and social life seperate. In my personal opinion, I am more inclined towards the idea of having social life seprated from work life.

Firstly, the main reason I follow this believe is providing yourself with some rest from work. An example to justify it is imagine the scenerio where you work from 9 to 5 for 5 days a week, that provide you enough time to socialise with your coworkers but after that you need to spend time with yourself to reengerise for the next day. Morever, if you have family and friends you can use this time to connect with them.

Secondly, in the past years I have spend my time to be involved with coworkers which now just seems as time wasted asI am someone who adored to study and enhance my skillsets in my leisure time which includes my weekday evenings and weekends. I am not in the favour of of using my time elsewhere rather on myself.

In conclusion, the ideology of socialising with work colleagues is great to be more involed in their lives as well as work. I would rather spend my time working on my flaws than going out and communicating with others. Therefore, I agree with the opinon that it is important to keep working life completely seperate from social life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you favour keeping work and social life separate, and the reasons about resting after work and using leisure time for personal development are relevant. However, the task asks you to discuss both views, and the opposing case is only briefly acknowledged in the conclusion (“to be more involved in their lives as well as work”). It is not explained or supported in a body paragraph. Your own reasons also need fuller development: the example of working 9 to 5 is hypothetical, and the point about studying and improving skills would be stronger with a specific example or explanation of its benefits. Addressing both perspectives more evenly and extending your supporting examples would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. “Firstly,” “Secondly” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of your argument, and the main position remains consistent. However, the progression is limited because both body paragraphs support your own view, leaving the opposing view without a developed place in the discussion. Some connections are also awkward or unclear: the first body paragraph moves from rest to family and friends without explaining how these points relate, while the second shifts from past experience to your preference for studying. Plan one paragraph for each view, then connect each reason to an explanation or example. This would make the organisation more balanced and the links between ideas clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “socialise,” “coworkers,” “leisure time” and “skillsets,” and the reader can generally understand your intended meaning. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors reduce accuracy, such as “seperate,” “reengerise,” “involed” and “opinon.” Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise, including “a percent of people,” “follow this believe” and “using my time elsewhere rather on myself.” Aim to learn common collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise phrases such as “a proportion of people,” “I hold this view” and “invest time in personal development” would help express your ideas more naturally and clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast in the introduction (“While some people believe…”) and a conditional example (“if you have family and friends…”). The overall meaning is usually understandable, but errors occur in sentence construction, verb forms and punctuation. For example, “that provide you enough time” needs subject–verb agreement and a clearer structure, while “I have spend my time” uses an incorrect verb form. The long sentence beginning “An example to justify it is imagine…” is difficult to follow and needs restructuring. There are also punctuation problems, such as the comma splice in “for 5 days a week, that provide…”. Practise building accurate complex sentences and separating independent clauses with appropriate punctuation.

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