Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-03

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)

It is argued that some people think that work is the most necessary thing in life and they have no interest in rest of the things and some people believe that leisure interest are more important than their work. I believe that hobies and other activities are also important. This essay will explain both side of discussion before reaching to the final conclusion.

Work plays an important role in everyone's life and every people should do work to earn. Money is very important these days and to get any type of luxuries one should earn good. Happiness also comes from wealth and the only good way to become wealthy is to do work or job.

Work is more important than anything else is something different. Other hobbies and interests are also equally important. Otherwise people will become robot with no feelings. For-example if someone works for the whole week but on the weekend he take time for his family and do some other activities, it will be good for his family as well as for himself to get fresh for the whole next week.

In my opinion, other hobbies and leisures are also equally important with the work but it should be properly balanced. Hobbies can make someone fit and active. Work all the time can make you away from your family and friends and can make you feelingless.

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To get all in the nutshell it is important to balance the work life with your other interests or hobbies because excess of everything is bad.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both work-centric and leisure-centric attitudes and providing a personal opinion. However, the development of ideas remains limited and under-developed. For instance, the discussion on why some people prioritize work focuses heavily and somewhat repetitively on earning money and buying luxuries, as seen in sentences like 'Money is very important these days and to get any type of luxuries one should earn good.' Similarly, the arguments regarding hobbies keeping people from becoming 'robot with no feelings' are basic and lack extension with specific examples or deep analysis. To reach a higher standard, the writer needs to explore the underlying social, psychological, or economic motivations behind these lifestyle choices with greater depth and well-supported examples rather than relying on brief, generalized statements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some organizational structure with a clear introduction and conclusion, and paragraphs are used to separate different points. However, there is no clear overall progression throughout the text, as ideas tend to loop or repeat without advancing smoothly. Cohesive devices are used in a mechanical and repetitive manner, particularly transitional phrases like 'Work plays an important role', 'Work is more important than anything else is something different', and 'In my opinion'. Furthermore, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the abrupt shift in focus between paragraphs without proper logical bridges. To improve cohesion, the writer should employ a wider and more natural variety of linking words, ensure each paragraph flows logically into the next, and maintain a consistent thematic thread from the introduction to the conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses a limited vocabulary range that is minimally adequate for the task, but lexical choices often lack precision and natural collocation. Examples of awkward word choice and word formation include 'rest of the things' instead of 'other aspects of life', 'earn good' instead of 'earn a good living', and 'feelingless' instead of 'apathetic' or 'disconnected'. There are also frequent issues with plurals and countable/uncountable nouns, such as 'leisure interest', 'hobies', and 'leisures'. While the meaning is generally communicated, these noticeable errors restrict the lexical score. To progress, the student should expand their active vocabulary by learning standard collocations related to work-life balance and focus on accurate word forms, spelling, and precision when expressing abstract concepts.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic coordination. When the student attempts complex sentence forms, they are frequently faulty, leading to structural awkwardness and grammatical errors. Examples include 'Work is more important than anything else is something different' and 'Other hobbies and leisures are also equally important with the work but it should be properly balanced.' There are frequent errors in articles, subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'every people should', 'hobbies and leisures... it should'), and prepositions. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with accurate control, paying closer attention to clause connectivity, prepositions, and grammatical agreement.

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