Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-08

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)

Many of people argued that work is a paramount of importance in life and having very less interest in other things. Some people believe that more interested in doing somenting more excited and zealous such as leisure activities and hobies rather than of their jobs. I firmly believe that work are hobbies are equally crucial, but maintaining balance between them is necessary for ecastic and fulfilling life.

To commence with, some individuals are passionate about their professions because work provides financial stability and help people to meet their basic needs, to support their families and career success gives people a sence of achievement as well as identity. Furthermore, with job satisfaction and be more professionalism facilitates developing skills and accomplishing challenging tasks. For instance, doctors may feel motivated by the opportunity to save lives, while researchers can be more satisfied with their inventions.

On the flip side, other people are more enthusiastic about their hobbies as these enable to alleviate the stress and to escape pressure of working life. Moreover, spending time on personal development improves mental and physical well-being and it also strenghthen relationship between kith and kin. Additionally, leisure interests choice provide vast opportunites to explore their creativity under cooking, travelling or playing any musical instrument may experience greater happiness and calmness.

In the conclusion, although work is essential for financial independence and personal success, some activities are also valuable for maintaining happiness and overall well-being. In my opinion balance should be there to stable professional life with healthy life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both attitudes: the first body paragraph explains why people value work, while the second gives reasons for prioritising hobbies, and your opinion that both matter is stated in the introduction and conclusion. Relevant examples, such as doctors saving lives and people cooking or travelling, help illustrate the points. However, several ideas remain general or are not fully explained, and the conclusion’s recommendation to “balance” work and leisure is not developed into a clear account of how this benefits people. The response is also 244 words, six words below the 250-word minimum; the eight words copied from the prompt are not counted. Develop one or two key points further and ensure the response meets the required length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two attitudes, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “To commence with,” “On the flip side,” and “In the conclusion” make the paragraph roles apparent. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the sentence beginning “Additionally, leisure interests choice…” contains several ideas without a clear grammatical connection. Some linking phrases feel formulaic, and the conclusion repeats the main contrast rather than bringing the argument together with a precise final position. Use clearer topic sentences, connect each supporting detail explicitly to its main point, and check that pronouns and references make the relationships between ideas easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “financial stability,” “job satisfaction,” “personal development,” and “mental and physical well-being.” These choices show an effort to discuss both professional and personal life beyond basic terms. However, inaccurate word forms, spelling, and collocations are frequent enough to make some phrases difficult to understand, as in “a paramount of importance,” “more professionalism facilitates developing skills,” and “leisure interests choice.” There are also misspellings such as “hobies,” “strenghthen,” and “opportunites.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations rather than using ambitious wording that does not fit the sentence. Proofreading spelling and checking collocations would make your meaning clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast introduced by “although” and supporting clauses with “because” and “while.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors in sentence construction and agreement sometimes make the meaning hard to follow. For example, “work are hobbies are equally crucial” has an incorrect verb and a faulty connection, while “these enable to alleviate the stress” is missing a subject for “alleviate.” The sentence beginning “Additionally, leisure interests choice provide…” also lacks a clear structure. Practise building complete clauses with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries. More accurate control of these patterns would make your ideas easier to read.

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

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