Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-11

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 say that their jobs are more important to them than anything else, they take almost no interest in other and only focus on their job. While other are more serious about their daily routine, their hobbies and want to spend their free time in the activities that they love. This essay will discuss both views and will argue that work is important, but we should also engage ourselves in things that make us feel relaxed and make our minds refreshed.

On the one hand, people often argues that they are comfortable with their work,they do not want to be a part of some other activities, because they take their work more seriously and they do not want to waste their time on other things. For instance, if they get involved in cricket or in football they will spend much of their time in playing, which will give them little time to complete their jobs.

On ther other hand, some individuals are more serious about their hobbies and their activities in free time. This is because they want be involved in physical activities. They want their physical health to be strong. They also want to make themselves happy and relaxed from the burdon of the work. For example, if a person do not participate in physical activities and everytime they are sitting on a chair, they may become physically weak. As a result, they may develope some physical weaknesses.

In conclusion, although working hard is better, i believe we should also participate in various physical work to keep ourselves healthy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both attitudes by discussing people who prioritise work and those who value hobbies, and you state your view that work matters but leisure and physical activity are also beneficial. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the work-focused paragraph mainly says hobbies take time away from jobs, while the hobbies paragraph focuses on physical health and relaxation. These points are relevant, but they need fuller explanation and more specific support. Your conclusion also shifts towards “physical work,” which does not clearly express the broader balance between employment and leisure stated in the introduction. Develop each side with a clearer reason or example, and keep your position consistent throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs introduced by “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” and a conclusion. This makes the two attitudes easy to identify. The ideas within each paragraph are generally connected, and phrases such as “For instance” and “As a result” help signal examples and consequences. However, progression is sometimes mechanical, and some links between ideas are not fully clear. For example, the first body paragraph moves from being comfortable with work to avoiding activities, then to the time needed for sports, without explaining the connection in depth. Use clearer referencing and develop each paragraph around one central point, with transitions that show how the supporting detail relates to it.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “hobbies,” “free time,” “physical activities,” and “physically weak.” However, the range is limited and several expressions are repetitive or imprecise, such as “more serious about” and “other activities.” Some word choices and collocations are awkward, including “physical work” for exercise and “make our minds refreshed.” Spelling errors such as “burdon” and “develope” are noticeable and reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise phrases that distinguish employment from leisure, and check spelling carefully. For example, “take their work more seriously” could be expressed as “prioritise their careers,” while “activities that they love” could be “leisure pursuits they enjoy.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “if,” and “although,” so the response is not limited entirely to short statements. However, the range remains restricted, and errors occur frequently enough to affect fluency. Examples include “people often argues” instead of “people often argue,” “they want be involved” instead of “they want to be involved,” and “if a person do not participate” instead of “if a person does not participate.” There are also sentence-boundary and punctuation problems, such as the comma splice in the opening sentence and missing spaces after commas. Practise checking subject–verb agreement, infinitives, and sentence boundaries, while building more accurate complex sentences.

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

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