Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people regard work as the most important thing in life and have little interest in anything else. Other people are more enthusiastic about their hobbies and leisure interests than their jobs.

Discuss both these attitudes and give your own opinion.

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

I agree that some people prioritise their work more in life whereas, there are also people who are more into balancing their work and personal life. I believe to have a balanced life is much better than only hustling with job or career because it gives the chance to maintain personal space and also provides a better mindset to focus on the job.

When a person focuses only on their job, they might become really successful in their life within a short span of time but after a certain time life might become monotonous which might affect their mindset and also their surrounding. For instance, a person who just prioritises their work life might be running out of many other important aspects like their social circle and as a result, after a certain time they might have no one around them with whom they could share their success or sorrows and they might become mentally very disturbed and pessimistic by nature.

On the other hand, a person who balances their work and personal life well might not be as successful as a more job oriented person but they are usually more optimistic and their personal space works more like a reset button for their upcoming week which makes them more focused. For example; a person who spends weekends with their friends or family or by playing video games or simply exploring their hobbies are naturally more focused and enthusiastic in their job.

Therefore, we can conclude that though prioritising work life can bring in success within a short time but, it's equally important to having a personal life to maintian harmony and peace of mind.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both attitudes and make your own view clear: you favour balancing work with personal life. The discussion of work-focused people includes a relevant consequence—reduced social connection and possible distress—while the leisure-focused paragraph explains how hobbies can help people return to work feeling refreshed. These examples support your position and show some development. However, the two attitudes are not explored equally: the benefits of prioritising work are acknowledged mainly as short-term success, without explaining why someone might reasonably choose that lifestyle. The claim that balanced people “might not be as successful” is also broad and is not supported. To strengthen the response, develop the motivations and benefits on both sides, then qualify general claims with clearer reasoning or examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your position, two body paragraphs present contrasting attitudes, and a conclusion restates your view. Ideas progress logically, and signposts such as “On the other hand” and “Therefore” help readers follow the argument. The examples are placed alongside the points they support, which gives the response a coherent flow. Some linking is a little mechanical, however, and repeated use of “might” and “after a certain time” makes parts of the discussion feel less precise. The first sentence also joins contrasting ideas with “whereas” in a slightly awkward way. For stronger cohesion, vary transitions, use clearer references between sentences, and make the relationship between each claim and its example more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for discussing work, leisure and wellbeing, with relevant expressions such as “social circle,” “monotonous,” “optimistic,” and “peace of mind.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and you attempt some less common phrasing. At times, though, wording is informal or imprecise for an academic essay: “more into,” “hustling with job,” and “reset button” sound conversational, while “their surrounding” and “job oriented” are not natural choices in these contexts. There are also spelling and word-form slips, including “maintian.” Aim for more precise collocations and a consistently formal register; this will make your argument sound more controlled without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “When a person focuses only on their job, they might become…” and relative clauses such as “with whom they could share their success or sorrows.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the grammar errors do not prevent the reader from following your argument. Some sentence structures and punctuation need more control. For example, “I agree that … whereas, there are also people…” incorrectly places a comma after “whereas” and creates an awkward construction; “it’s equally important to having” should use a different verb pattern, such as “it is equally important to have.” Review comma use around linking words and check verb patterns and sentence boundaries. Greater accuracy across these structures would make the response more fluent.

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