Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-04

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)

Most people give more importance to work than anything else and do not have any hobbies, while other people are more interested in their hobbies and other things they like apart from their job. I believe a person should have hobbies outside of work. This essay will discuss both views.

The reason behind the first view is that people find work interesting. Their life always revolve around their work. The only aim in their life is to earn money and fulfill their jobs. For example, a businessman is always working on expanding his business. Such people do not have hobbies to freshen up their minds or to have time for rest. They are always busy and exhausted because of work.

Furthermore, People who have leisure interests other than their jobs are more enthusiastic towards life. These people know the work life balance. They do give some time to hobbies in order to relax the mind. For example, after a vacation, a working person is more relax and fresh minded than a person who is working without a break.

In conclusion, people with hobbies are calmer and more positive than a person who is always indulge in its job. A hobby is essential to relax your mind.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both attitudes and state a clear preference for hobbies in the opening: “I believe a person should have hobbies outside of work.” The discussion is relevant, but the first view is explained mainly as people finding work interesting and wanting to earn money; it does not explore why someone might prioritise work, such as ambition, responsibility, or fulfilment. The second view is also supported with only a brief example about feeling refreshed after a vacation, which does not directly illustrate regular leisure interests. The conclusion repeats your position rather than developing it. The response is 44 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to explain and support both sides. Develop each view with a specific example and explain how it supports your opinion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph for each attitude, and a conclusion. This makes the main direction easy to follow, and transitions such as “Furthermore” and “In conclusion” signal changes in the discussion. However, progression within the paragraphs is limited: several sentences repeat that people are busy, exhausted, or need to relax without adding a new step to the argument. The example about a vacation also feels loosely connected to the claim about hobbies. Some linking is mechanical, and the capitalisation of “People” after “Furthermore” interrupts the flow. To improve, organise each body paragraph around one clear reason, then connect a relevant example to that reason and explain its significance.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “leisure interests,” “expanding his business,” and “work life balance.” There is some repetition of basic terms such as “work,” “hobbies,” and “people,” and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, including “fulfill their jobs,” “freshen up their minds,” and “fresh minded.” “More relax” also uses the wrong form. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding your argument, but they limit precision and naturalness. Build a wider set of collocations for employment, leisure, and wellbeing, and check whether a phrase is idiomatic in context. For example, “fulfil their jobs” could be replaced with “meet their work responsibilities,” while “fresh minded” could become “mentally refreshed.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple sentences and some longer structures, including “Such people do not have hobbies to freshen up their minds or to have time for rest.” Most sentences are understandable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, and sentence construction remain. For example, “Their life always revolve” should be “Their lives always revolve,” and “a person who is always indulge” needs a corrected verb form, such as “a person who is always absorbed in their job.” In “a working person is more relax,” the adjective form should be “relaxed.” The range of structures is also fairly limited, with few developed complex sentences. Practise accurate relative clauses and subordinate clauses, and proofread for subject–verb agreement and consistent pronoun use.

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