Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-06

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 7.0)

Some people focus mostly on their jobs and have little interest in other activities, while others care more about their hobbies and free time. Working hard can help person to succeed and earned good money, but I believe that enjoying personal interests of outside work is necessary for a healthy and happy life.

On the one hand, many people proritize their careers because work provides financial stability and a sense of achievement. Spending more time and effort on the work allow individuals to earn high salaries, secure promotions, and afford a comfortable lifestyle for their families. Fuethermore, for many, professional success gives them a confidence and a clear purpose in life. The professional success also brings the personal identity in workplace or the area where he/she lives. For example, doctors and entrepreneurs frequently dedicate long hours to their profession the reason is that they view their work not just as a job, but as a core part of who they are.

On the other hand, pursuing hobbies and personal interests is crucial for mental and physical health of a well-being. Focusing only on work can lead to high stress, exhausation, and health problems. In contrast, spending time on activities like sports, reading, or painting helps people to relax and refresh their minds after a busy day. It also fosters the creativity and maintained strong social connections. In my opinion, citizens who cultivate rich personal lives are ultimately happier and enjoy a far more balanced, fulfilling lifestyle.

In conclusion, while prioritizing one's career brings financial stability or security and social recognition, preserving personal interests outside of work is vital to avoid burnout and lead a happier more balanced life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both attitudes towards work and leisure, and provides a clear position throughout. The writer's stance is well supported, particularly in the body paragraphs where reasons for prioritizing either career or hobbies are extended with examples such as doctors and entrepreneurs. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalize in the exploration of personal identity and stress, which keeps the response at this particular level. To reach higher bands, the ideas would need even deeper extension and more nuanced analysis rather than relying on standard talking points.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

There is a clear logical organization and progression throughout the essay, with a distinct introduction, two well-defined body paragraphs examining contrasting views, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to guide the reader, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and paragraphing show some minor mechanical tendencies, and certain transitions feel slightly formulaic rather than fully flexible. To achieve a higher level of cohesion, the flow between sentences could be made smoother and more naturally integrated without relying on standard signposting phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating a sufficient range to discuss work-life balance with some flexibility. The writer attempts less common vocabulary such as 'financial stability', 'professional success', and 'burnout', showing an awareness of topic-specific collocations. However, there are notable word-choice and spelling errors that occasionally detract from precision, such as 'proritize', 'Fuethermore', 'exhausation', and 'maintained' instead of 'maintaining'. These minor inaccuracies show that while the range is broad enough to communicate effectively, greater control over word forms and spelling is needed for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures. There is a good variety of complex structures attempted, and many sentences are accurate. However, several grammatical errors persist, including article omission and misuse (e.g., 'help person', 'gives them a confidence', 'fosters the creativity'), as well as minor subject-verb agreement or preposition issues (e.g., 'interests of outside work', 'efforts on the work allow'). These errors rarely impede communication, but their persistent presence across different structures prevents the grammar score from reaching the higher band where the majority of sentences would need to be entirely error-free.

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

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