Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-13

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 individuals put work ahead of everything else in their life, while other people are more excited about the things that they like and interests that keep them happy and active in their minds rather than just working.

In my opinion working is important to an extent that it does not affect personal time outside of working space.

Humans need to earn money to help support themselves financially and to be able to afford basic necessities in life. Few individuals are heavily focused in working and lose their interest in everyday life outside of working place. Competition in earning more money than others has caused this phenomena. Nowadays social media is amongst the major cause of this problem. Showing off in a manner that triggers the mind of an individual.

Other people regard their personal interests highly and credit it more than their jobs, focusing more on their personal likings rather than just working. A person needs a healthy and a happy lifestyle which is achieved by doing chores and activities they like, for instance going for a walk in the mountains on a weekend. I myself support this idea because as much as work is important a persons personal life should be the first priority.

Few people think of working as the most important aspect of life, leaving other chores to the side. While on the other hand individuals are more fascinated about their perosnal interests rather than focusing just on work. I believe that personal life should be put first before anything else because at later part of the life their should be no regrets and life have to be enjoyed to the fullest.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both attitudes: the first body paragraph explains why people prioritise work, while the next describes the value of hobbies and personal interests. Your position is also stated clearly in favour of protecting personal life, especially in “personal life should be the first priority.” However, the discussion is only partly developed. The point about social media and competition for money is introduced but not fully explained, and the benefits of leisure are supported mainly by one example, walking in the mountains. The conclusion repeats your view rather than drawing together the discussion. To strengthen the response, explain the consequences of each attitude and support each main point with a more specific example or reason.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has an introduction, separate discussion of the two attitudes, and a concluding paragraph, so the reader can identify its broad structure. However, progression within and between paragraphs is uneven. The sentence “Showing off in a manner that triggers the mind of an individual” is a fragment and does not clearly connect the social-media point to the preceding claim. The final paragraph largely repeats ideas already stated instead of advancing the argument. Linking phrases such as “while on the other hand” are used mechanically, and references such as “this problem” are not fully precise. Give each paragraph one clear purpose, connect reasons to their effects, and make the conclusion synthesise rather than repeat.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to discuss work, money, leisure and wellbeing, including phrases such as “basic necessities,” “personal interests” and “healthy lifestyle.” There are also attempts at more specific expression, such as “Competition in earning more money.” However, the range is limited by repeated wording around “work,” “personal life” and “interests,” and several choices are awkward or inaccurate. For example, “credit it more than their jobs” does not naturally express prioritising hobbies, while “excited about the things that they like” is vague. Spelling errors such as “perosnal” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise collocations and vary repeated terms while keeping the meaning clear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the main ideas are generally understandable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in longer constructions. In “Few individuals are heavily focused in working,” the preposition pattern is incorrect; “a persons personal life” needs a possessive apostrophe; and “life have to be enjoyed” has subject–verb disagreement. The fragment “Showing off in a manner that triggers the mind of an individual” also lacks a complete main clause. Some sentences join several ideas without clear grammatical relationships, which makes the argument harder to follow. Practise accurate clause construction, agreement and possessives, and check that every sentence has a complete subject and verb.

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