Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-22

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 6.0)

It is argued by many that having a job is more meaningful in life than other activities. By contrast, opponents of this trend state that pursuing hobbies and entertainment is more beneficial to our psychological and metal health than spending most time in doing routinly tasks every day. As far as I am concerned, a balance between the two latter style of life should be established for a stabilised and healthy life.

Those finding work as the focal point in their schedule are pointing to the problems one might encouter when not getting a job. First of all, with the increase of living costs due to inflation and demographic expansion, it is challenging to earn a respectable living. As a result, people are working hard to secure their necessities. For example, to have a family, a good house and educate children in a prestigious school these days, one must earn a good salary and withou working nothing is free. Hence, working is more important for a better life.

On the other hand, some individuals say that passing longer hours in an office and leveraging all the energy for work to earn more is the one main reason why people are depressed. Some parents dedicate all their available time to cater to their children everything they need. This situation makes them stressed and many of them are affected by seious diseases especially depression and blood pressure. Consequently, they end up stop living their life at the expense of family and social pressure. These are the reasons why some people are more interested in their hobbies and entertainment.

In conclusion, even though working hard could secure a better life, people should also break the routine of work by other activities like developing their hobbies to reach a life balance avoiding many diseases by doing so.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both attitudes and providing a clear personal opinion in the introduction. The ideas are relevant, such as the economic necessity of work and the health risks of overworking. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The argument regarding the benefits of hobbies is less detailed than the section on work. While the position is clear, the supporting evidence could be more nuanced to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points and reiterates the stance on achieving a work-life balance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'By contrast', 'First of all', 'As a result', and 'On the other hand', which help guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing, such as the phrase 'the two latter style of life' in the introduction, which is slightly awkward. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common collocations like 'demographic expansion' and 'focal point'. However, there are several spelling errors ('metal' instead of 'mental', 'routinly', 'encouter', 'withou', 'seious') and minor word choice inaccuracies, such as 'passing longer hours' instead of 'spending longer hours' and 'stop living their life' which is slightly unnatural. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the response from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is a reasonable attempt at complex grammar, such as conditional structures and participial phrases. However, there are frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation, such as 'withou working nothing is free' (missing punctuation/awkward phrasing) and 'cater to their children everything they need' (missing preposition 'with'). While these errors do not cause significant difficulty for the reader, they are frequent enough to limit the score. The control over sentence structure is generally good, but accuracy needs improvement.

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

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