Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-23

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 6.5)

It is argued that some individuals regard their professional careers as the most significant aspect of their lives and show little interest in other activities, whereas others place greater importance on their hobbies and leisure pursuits than on their jobs. Although work is essential for financial stability, I believe that people should prioritise their hobbies and leisure activities to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Admittedly, priortising work is very essential. This is because individuals can achieve financial stability and improve their standard of living through their jobs. By dedicating more time, carrying out task effectively and efficiently so as to increase their chance of promotion or compensation from the company. For instance, a banker may take up additional responsibilities, put in maximum effort into their work to impress their superiors with the hope of receiving annual rewards. As a result, they may get promoted, achieve their career goals and earn more salaries to take care of themselves and their loved one's.

In contrast, setting out time for recreational activities is equally important. Individuals should engage in regular exercise, participate in sports, or other games they enjoy, as these activities make them stay physically fit and reduce stress. Furthermore, they can spend quality time with families to build stronger relationships and strengthen family bond. They can also visit parks or go to the cinema to watch movies, relax and enjoy themselves. together. For example, a professional lawyer could join a sports club where he can participate in activities such as table tennis, basketball and badminton. Consequently, he can maintain physical fitness, reduce the risk of certain health problems and relieve stress after a demanding day at work.

In conclusion, although dedicating more time to work provide more opportunities to become financially stable, I believe people should devote sufficient time for their hobbies and leisure activites, as this contributes to their physical health and overall well-being

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both attitudes and state a clear opinion: work can provide financial stability, but hobbies and leisure should be prioritised for a healthy work-life balance. The examples of a banker seeking promotion and a lawyer joining a sports club make the discussion relevant. This meets the task well, but the two sides are not developed equally in depth. The work-focused paragraph mainly explains financial rewards, while the leisure paragraph gives several benefits; the discussion could better explain why some people value work beyond income, or acknowledge possible drawbacks of prioritising leisure. To strengthen the response further, extend the reasoning behind each attitude and connect the examples more explicitly to the broader question of what makes life fulfilling.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction presents the issue and your view, two body paragraphs discuss contrasting attitudes, and the conclusion restates your position. Transitions such as “Admittedly” and “In contrast” help readers follow the progression, and ideas within each paragraph generally move from claim to explanation and example. Some linking is a little mechanical, however, and the leisure paragraph shifts through exercise, family time, and entertainment without fully showing how these points relate to one another. The sentence beginning “By dedicating more time” is also not smoothly connected to the preceding explanation. Use clearer links between supporting points and vary transitions so that the organisation remains logical without relying mainly on signposting phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “financial stability,” “recreational activities,” “physically fit,” and “overall well-being.” These choices communicate the main ideas clearly, and some less common expressions show an effort to write in an appropriately formal style. However, there are several spelling and word-choice or collocation slips, such as “priortising,” “activites,” “earn more salaries,” and “strengthen family bond.” “Maximum effort” and “annual rewards” are understandable but not the most natural choices in context. Aim for more precise, natural collocations and proofread spelling carefully. This would make the vocabulary more flexible and accurate while preserving the clear meaning already achieved.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including a concession in the introduction (“Although work is essential…”) and a relative clause describing activities. Meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. The fragment “By dedicating more time, carrying out task effectively…” needs a main clause, and “dedicating more time to work provide” has a subject–verb agreement error. In “these activities make them stay physically fit,” the verb pattern is awkward; a structure such as “help them stay” would be more accurate. There are also punctuation and sentence-boundary problems in “enjoy themselves. together.” Work on complete sentence construction, agreement, and accurate verb patterns, while continuing to use varied sentence forms.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.