Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-30

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)

Work-life balance should be properly maintained in order for a person to lead a tranquil life. I opine that people who regard work as the most important thing and have little interest in anything else may potentially suffer from social harmony and miss out on quality friends and family time. Conversely, If people are more concerned about hobbies and leisure time than their jobs then they might potentially fail in the financial sector which may hamper their peace in near future.

The person who emphasizes on work may miss out many life adventures. They might also take friends and family for granted and spend less time with them. They might think internet is ubiquitous and everyone's just a phone call away. But in reality, life takes away the people they granted for and it might be too late to realize this then. Again, Mother Earth has beautiful earthly nature which mesmerizes the witnesses. The one who misses out on travelling the earth may miss out on many adventures and social recreation. This may later hamper the individual's mental health.

There are people who are over the moon when the topic's about trips, leisure activities and hobbies. These people might face financial crisis and dependency if they continue to act the way they act. Punctuality and honesty might not prevail in the character of such individual which makes them suffer more on household works and other chores. As a result, poverty might hit them hard as an aftereffect of financial crisis.

To sum it up, a wise and prudent man would be organized about work-life equilibrium and try to maintain it for their own prosperity. Workaholic or Jolly individuals don't reap the same benefits as those who maintain work-life balance. Therefore, we need to properly tick both the boxes of career oriented and joy oriented traits.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both attitudes towards work and leisure and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, though some arguments, such as the claim that leisure-focused people might lack 'punctuality and honesty,' are somewhat over-generalized and lack nuanced support. The position is consistent throughout, and the conclusion effectively summarizes the main points. To reach a higher band, ensure that arguments are supported with more logical evidence rather than speculative assertions about character traits. Overall, the task is well-addressed with a clear, balanced perspective.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two viewpoints. Cohesive devices such as 'Conversely,' 'Again,' and 'As a result' are used to link ideas, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally clear, although the connection between the lack of leisure and 'mental health' in the second paragraph could be more explicitly linked to the preceding sentences. Overall, the flow is smooth and the structure supports the reader's understanding.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate and allows for clear communication. There is an attempt to use less common items like 'ubiquitous,' 'mesmerizes,' and 'prudent,' which adds variety. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in collocation and word choice, such as 'suffer from social harmony' (which is logically confusing) and 'tick both the boxes of career oriented and joy oriented traits.' While these errors do not impede meaning, they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Expanding the range of precise academic collocations would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is good control over basic grammar, but some errors persist, such as 'emphasizes on' (should be 'emphasizes'), 'the topic's about' (informal contraction), and 'household works' (should be 'household chores'). Additionally, there are minor punctuation and article usage issues. While the meaning is never obscured, the frequency of these small errors suggests that the control of complex structures is not yet consistent enough for a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and preposition usage will improve accuracy.

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

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