Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-18

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)

In modern societies, employment ans enjoyment is essential for people's lives. Some individuals think that work is the most crucial thing in life and they have little cravings in anything else, while others people are considerably more excited about their hobbies and leisure interests than thier jobs. I believe that work is more important because it provides people with financial commitments, better experience and peaceful lives.

On the one hand, adult people give more priority to work rather than anything else because it provides convenient lifestyle and an opportunity to achieve their dreams. In this contemporary era, people have to balance demanding jobs, education, family responsibilities and financial commitments. Therefore, they are motivated to spend their leisure time on improving their skills by working on new things, instead of westing leisure time. For example, a person who is working hard may has good reputation in societies than others who have interested in other things. As a result, people like to concentrate on work too build a good personality and being wealthy person.

On the other hand, others individuals have more enthusiastic about their hobbies and leisure interests because they think that employment is a type of caze, where they cannot make enough progress than expected. Moreover, people notion that there are several things such as sports, music and arts, which can help to achieve their dream. Hence, people are more excited about their own choices and interests. For instance, many institutions offer courses according to students interests, which can provide a better structure to their career.

To recapitulate, in my opinion, working life is more convienient because it provides better opportunities, fruitful lives and a chance to achieve dreams.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument for work-life balance is supported by general statements about 'financial commitments' and 'reputation,' but lacks specific, concrete examples to fully illustrate these points. The second paragraph regarding hobbies is also quite brief and relies on vague assertions about 'caze' (likely meaning 'cage' or 'rat race') and 'notion' (used incorrectly as a verb). To reach a higher band, you should expand on your arguments with more detailed explanations and specific real-world examples to demonstrate a deeper exploration of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'To recapitulate' are used to signal the structure. However, the flow within paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by awkward phrasing and grammatical errors, such as 'people notion that there are several things.' While the progression of ideas is generally clear, the use of linking words is sometimes mechanical, and the connection between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall readability of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but shows limited range and some inaccuracies. You use some relevant topic-specific vocabulary like 'financial commitments' and 'contemporary era,' but there are several instances of incorrect word choice or spelling, such as 'ans' instead of 'and,' 'cravings' used inappropriately, 'westing' instead of 'wasting,' and 'caze.' These errors occasionally impede the reader's understanding. To improve, you should focus on using more precise vocabulary and ensuring that words are used in their correct collocations and contexts. Expanding your range of synonyms and avoiding repetitive phrasing will also help boost your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('a person... may has good reputation'), incorrect word forms ('others individuals,' 'too build'), and awkward phrasing ('people notion that'). While these errors do not completely prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To achieve a higher band, you need to demonstrate better control over complex structures and pay closer attention to basic grammar rules, such as pluralization, verb tense consistency, and the correct use of prepositions.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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