Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

In this world, some people are more focused on the important things of their life, like job etc and give less or no time to other things. While other people are more interested in their hobbies and they want to enjoy the life. They both are right in their own way. Everyone has their own goals in their life and they live their life according to that. People who are spending their time only in their work, are very successful beacuse of their hard work and consistency. On the other hand, people who give priority to their hobbies are more happy in their life.

There are two types of people, one are those, who prioritize their work and spend most of the time doing that. These type of people are very successful in their life becuse they have clear goal in their mind and they want to achieve it through their hard work and consistency but these type of persons are not happy in their life. They just work like a machine and have no personal feeling. For example, most of the scientists are very focused on their work and become successful at one stage, but at the end of their life, they loose their mind and face mental problems due to high stress and loneliness that's why other people are more interested in their hobbies as compare to jobs.

The other group of people think that humans are not robots. They should be more interested in their hobbies where they feel more happiness. These type of persons are not very successful but they are more satisfied with their life. For example, there are many people who are poor but still enjoy their life more than rich people.

In my opinion, everyone should balance their life between job and hobbies but if i had to take one side, I will go with the people who has a goal in their life and achieving it through their consistency because this is what life demands from you.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You discuss both attitudes and give a clear personal view: you recognise the ambition and success associated with work, describe the satisfaction hobbies can bring, and conclude that balance is preferable while ultimately favouring goal-oriented work. These points address the task, and the examples about scientists and people with limited means help illustrate your ideas. However, some claims are broad or insufficiently explained, such as saying that scientists lose their minds because of stress and loneliness, and that hobby-focused people are not very successful. Explain the reasoning behind these claims or use more qualified examples. Your view also shifts slightly between recommending balance and choosing work, so clarify how these positions fit together.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph for each attitude, and a conclusion. Phrases such as “On the other hand” and “In my opinion” help signal contrasts and your final position. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear or repetitive. The opening repeats the idea that people have different priorities, while the work-focused paragraph moves from success to unhappiness and then to a broad claim about scientists without fully connecting the steps. References such as “these type of people” are repeated and can make the discussion feel mechanical. Use clearer topic sentences, link each example directly to the point it supports, and vary referencing and transitions to make the argument flow more naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “prioritize,” “consistency,” “satisfied,” and “mental problems.” However, the range is limited by repeated general words and phrases such as “people,” “life,” “work,” and “successful.” Several choices are imprecise or unnatural, including “important things of their life,” “enjoy the life,” and “as compare to jobs.” Spelling errors such as “beacuse,” “becuse,” and “loose” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise language about career commitment, leisure, wellbeing, and achievement, and check spelling carefully. More accurate collocations would make your ideas clearer and help you express the contrast between the two lifestyles with greater flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple sentences and longer clauses, for example, “They both are right in their own way” and the sentence beginning “These type of people are very successful.” This allows you to explain causes and contrasts, and your meaning is generally understandable. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For instance, “These type of people” should be “This type of person” or “These types of people,” and “the people who has a goal” should be “people who have a goal.” The opening fragment beginning “While other people” should be joined to the preceding sentence or rewritten as a complete sentence. Review punctuation and agreement, while continuing to practise varied complex sentences.

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