Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-04

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)

People have different attitudes towards work and other activities of life. Some people give more importance to work, while others spend more time in the leisure activities and hobbies. I think, there should be a work-life balance in both these activities for a happy, prosparous and satisfied life.

On the on hand, some people place work as a priority over all other matters of life.They give employement more importance as they think financial stability predicts the overall wellbeing of life. Moreover, if work or business is disturbed, it causes an unrest in the whole matters of life and even in relationships. Furthermore, many people are highly ambitious, their satisfaction lies in good performance at work. In addition, many fields of work are highly demanding, such as medicine. Many doctors are obcessed with their career to remain competent.

On the other hand, some people are more interested in hobbies and leisure activities like travelling, watching movies and doing sports. These people have a perspective of living a happy and comfortable life rather than putting themselves in hectic schedules.

I believe, there should be a balanced approach toward both work and enjoyment. A person should try to perform well in his job but should also pay attention to his own peace of mind and health. An individual should spend quality time with his family to develop healthy relationships, when he is off work. Likewise, people who prefare enjoyment rather than work should come out of their comfort zone to attain economic stability and to become productive for society.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both attitudes toward work and leisure, and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion, successfully pushing the score into higher territory. The main body paragraphs explore the two contrasting perspectives effectively. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed or briefly stated. For instance, the mention of demanding fields like medicine is introduced with a good example (doctors being obsessed with their careers) but lacks further extension. Similarly, the counter-argument regarding hobbies is somewhat generalized. To achieve a higher band, the ideas would need to be fully extended and supported with deeper explanations and more comprehensive examples throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The response is divided into logical paragraphs, with a distinct introduction, two body paragraphs addressing the opposing views, and a concluding stance. Cohesive devices are used adequately to guide the reader, such as transitional phrases like 'On the on hand', 'Moreover', and 'On the other hand'. While referencing is generally clear, there are minor mechanical elements in paragraph transitions and some slight awkwardness in flow, which prevents the essay from reaching the highest levels of cohesion. Overall, the structural arrangement allows the reader to follow the writer's line of thought with ease.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'financial stability', 'overall wellbeing', and 'economic stability'. However, there are some spelling and word-choice errors that slightly detract from precision, such as 'prosparous' instead of prosperous, 'employement' instead of employment, 'obcessed' instead of obsessed, and 'prefare' instead of prefer. The phrase 'On the on hand' also contains a minor slip. These errors do not impede communication, but they highlight an occasional lack of control over less common lexical items, placing this criterion firmly in the adequate range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as in sentences beginning with 'Moreover, if work or business is disturbed...' and 'An individual should spend quality time with his family to develop healthy relationships, when he is off work.' There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including unnecessary commas (e.g., 'I think, there should be a work-life balance') and minor prepositional or structural slips, but these errors rarely impede communication and the meaning remains clear. To reach the next level, the writer would need to produce a higher frequency of error-free complex sentences with tighter grammatical control.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.