Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-12

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 5.5)

There are different opinions about individual's interest, some believe employment plays the major role, while others think there are other activities other than work. In my opinion, balancing your career with hobbies and leisure activities are essencial for mental well-being.

On the one hand, people who support that extra activities are more important than their jobs, they believe that engaging in sports and other physical activities are beneficial for their overall well -being. In addition, travelling to other destinations became a hobby to many people, they spend more time to explore the world and spend fewer hours per day on their career. For example, many life style youtubers prefer remote work, consequently to devote time on their interests. As a result, they can earn additionaly through entertainment, sport and life style.

People value more their career than other activities, this is due to the job security. Many individulas think, focusing on their jobs and acquiring the skills to develop is more important than spending more time on other activities. Furthermore, employees can spend fewer hours everyday to engage in their interests such as playing a sports, cooking a new dish or doing a ticktok video which can be a relaxtation from their daily stressful routine. for instance, a clerk spend his weekends in pursuing a degree to level up his position. As a result, people can save their income for future commitments.

People spending quality of time in their interests than their jobs can be enjoyable for a short period of time. However, balancing a life style with career is more important.

In conclusion, people think that engaging more in extra activities can be advantage, such as helping eith mental well being or earning extra. Meanwhile, to live a better life in future, saving and career growths are more important.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both attitudes and give a concluding view that balancing work with leisure is important, so the response addresses the main parts of the question. The career-focused position is supported with job security, skill development and saving for future commitments. However, the discussion of people who prioritise leisure is less clearly connected to the prompt: the example of lifestyle YouTubers earning from their interests shifts towards income rather than explaining why hobbies matter more than work. Your own position also changes somewhat: you favour balance, but the conclusion says career growth and saving are more important. Make your stance consistent and develop each side with a clearer explanation and a relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate body paragraphs for the two attitudes, and a conclusion. Linking phrases such as “On the one hand,” “Furthermore,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because ideas are joined without clear relationships. For example, the first body paragraph moves from the benefits of sport to travel and then to YouTubers’ earnings, without explaining how these points support prioritising leisure. The second paragraph also begins with career priorities but then describes employees making time for hobbies. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example explicitly to the paragraph’s main claim; keep the conclusion aligned with the position stated in the introduction.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “job security,” “acquiring the skills,” “mental well-being,” and “future commitments,” which allows you to discuss work and leisure. There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “remote work” and “daily stressful routine.” However, noticeable spelling, word-form and collocation errors reduce precision, including “essencial,” “individulas,” “additionaly,” and “a ticktok video.” Some phrases are awkward or unclear, such as “people value more their career” and “spending quality of time in their interests.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations and check spelling and word forms carefully. Replacing repeated general terms such as “activities” with precise alternatives would also make the discussion more flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “while,” “which,” and “such as,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with agreement, sentence construction, articles and verb forms. For example, “balancing your career with hobbies and leisure activities are” should use a singular verb, while “people who support that extra activities are more important than their jobs, they believe” has an incomplete and duplicated structure. Other examples include “a clerk spend his weekends” and “playing a sports.” Capitalisation and punctuation also need attention, as in the lowercase “for instance” after a full stop. Practise building complete sentences around one main clause, then check subject–verb agreement and articles.

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