Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-09

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)

Some people believe that work is the most important activity and neglect other interests, while others are more interested in personal hobbies and leisure activities than their jobs. However, I believe that work-life balance is an imporant part of an individuals life, therefore both work and personal interests should be embraced in a balanced approach.

On the one hand, a working environment helps develop a stable routine in an individual's life. A regular working place helps a person follow a regular routine of waking for work in the morning following a specific set of tasks such as visiting a gym and taking care of personal hygeine. Moreover, having a stable job can help a person achieve financial stability in the long run. Therefore, achieving a steady workplace should be considered as an important task in a person's life.

On the other hand, personal interests and leisurely activities should not be neglected in search of a stable workplace. Hobbies and personal interests aids a person to acheive mental stability by distracting them from a demanding workplace.

Personal hobbies such as sports, video games, movies helps a person to relax and diverts them from piling stress.

In my opinion, a proper work-life balance is required in an individuals life instead of priortizing one over the other.

In conclusion, although work plays an important role in a person's life, personal hobbies and interests should not be neglected since they helps people to relax from a stressful working environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You discuss both attitudes and state a clear preference for balance, so the response is relevant to the question. The work-focused paragraph gives reasons such as routine and financial stability, while the leisure paragraph explains that hobbies can support mental wellbeing and reduce stress. However, these points are brief and mostly general; for example, the routine example lists daily activities but does not explain why work should be the most important priority. The discussion also does not fully explore why some people are more enthusiastic about leisure than their jobs. The response is five words below the required minimum, and the limited development contributes to the task being only partially addressed. Extend each side with a specific example and clearer explanation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two paragraphs presenting contrasting views, your opinion, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the basic organisation. However, the progression is somewhat repetitive: the opinion paragraph repeats the balance position already stated in the introduction, and the conclusion restates the same point without adding a final implication. Some links between ideas are also mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “helps” and “therefore.” The leisure paragraph begins a new line but would work better as a fully developed paragraph with a clear topic sentence and supporting explanation. Develop a more continuous progression by linking each reason to its consequence and avoiding repeated conclusions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “financial stability,” “personal interests,” “demanding workplace,” and “work-life balance.” These choices make the main ideas clear, and there is some attempt to use more specific language than basic everyday terms. However, the range is limited by repeated words and phrases such as “personal,” “stable,” “helps a person,” and “interests.” Several spelling errors are noticeable, including “imporant,” “hygeine,” “acheive,” and “priortizing,” and some expressions are not natural, such as “steady workplace” and “relax from a stressful working environment.” Broaden the vocabulary and check spelling and collocations carefully; for example, use “secure employment” and “unwind after work.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including a contrast clause beginning “although” and a reason clause with “since.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but errors in agreement and sentence construction remain. For example, “Hobbies and personal interests aids” should use a plural verb, and “sports, video games, movies helps” also needs plural agreement. In “a person's life,” the apostrophe is used correctly, but “an individuals life” needs a possessive apostrophe. The opening sentence also joins two independent ideas with “therefore” without appropriate punctuation. Aim to control agreement, possessives, and punctuation in longer sentences, while varying sentence patterns beyond repeated “helps” constructions.

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