Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-26

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)

While some people argue that socialise with work colleagues out side the office is a good thing, others claims the necissity to separate completely social life from work life. Although, the idea of keep amical relationship with colleagues has merit, I ultimately side with separating work life from social life.

On the one hand, proponents of hanging out with colleagues during evenings or weekends maintain that this make office-time more fun, also makes it feels like a home rather than just a work-place, also it promote the collaboration between individuals. For instance, people feel more relaxed if they are in an cozy envirenment, that hepl bring out their best perfonrmance.

On the other hand, there are complings reasons to support the separation of work collueagues from social life. The main reason is to avoid favorising someone based in personal judgements rathan than a professional one. To illustrate, imagine that there is a promotion, and you as the team manager you have to choose one to the position. In this particulare situation, if you are friend with some persons in the team, there is a huge possibility that you will choose your friend, so your dicision will not be made according to a proffessionnel reasons.

In conclusion, while there are valid arguments on both sides, I firmly believe that keeping work relationship inside the office is the best decision to make.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and state a clear opinion: you acknowledge the benefits of socialising with colleagues, then argue that work and social life should be separate. The example about a manager choosing a friend for promotion is relevant and helps explain your concern about fairness. However, the supporting ideas are brief and unevenly developed. The first view is mainly described as making work more enjoyable and improving collaboration, without explaining how socialising achieves this in practice. The conclusion repeats your position rather than adding a final insight. The response is also 20 words below the required minimum, so there is limited space to develop the arguments. Add explanation and a specific example for each view, while maintaining your clear position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each viewpoint, and a conclusion. The contrast between the views is easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help the reader navigate the argument. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, particularly in the first body paragraph, where “also” is repeated and several points are crowded into one sentence. The promotion example is relevant, but its explanation could be divided into clearer steps. Use a wider range of linking and referencing, and make sure each paragraph develops one main idea in a logical sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some vocabulary suited to the topic, including “collaboration,” “promotion,” “professional,” and “separation,” and the reader can generally understand your intended meaning. However, spelling errors and inaccurate word choices are noticeable and sometimes make the text harder to read, as in “necissity,” “envirenment,” “favorising,” and “proffessionnel.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “keep amical relationship” and “office-time more fun.” Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully. Building a small set of topic-specific expressions—for example, “maintain professional boundaries” and “build team cohesion”—would help you express your ideas more precisely without relying on awkward phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex structures, including a concession in the introduction (“Although…”) and a conditional example beginning “if you are friend with some persons.” These attempts show a willingness to vary sentence forms, and the main argument remains understandable. However, some sentences contain several grammatical problems. For example, “others claims” has incorrect subject–verb agreement, while “this make” and “it promote” also need agreement. The opening “Although” clause is not correctly connected to the main clause, and “if you are friend” is missing an article. Review agreement, articles, and the construction of subordinate clauses. Shorter, carefully controlled sentences would improve accuracy while you continue practising complex forms.

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