Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-28
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
It is important for children, young adults, working people and the retired to have at least one hobby.
What's your opinion about this?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
I strongly believe that having at least one hobby is important for every body in the society to have regardless of age.
Firstly, hobbies are activities that people partake in during their free time. Hobbies like exercising, crotcheting, knitting, dancing, singing and many others can be a form of relaxation. For instance, individuals who work in high pressure situations during work hours may be able to relieve their stress by doing activities that brings them joy and satisfaction.
Another reason is that hobbies boost creativity and development in children. Apart from daily school tasks, children should be monitored and encouraged by parents and teachers in order to foster extra curricular activities that they may find interesting. Children should be encouraged to explore their interests.
For young adults, having an hobby can boost their self esteem. At this stage, many people are trying to figure out life and having a consistent routine with an hobby can help reduce anxiety and self doubt.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5
The student attempts to address the prompt by expressing an opinion on the importance of hobbies for different age groups, specifically touching upon working people, children, and young adults. However, the response falls severely short of the word count requirement, containing only 161 words against the minimum of 250 words. As a direct result, the ideas presented for each demographic are heavily under-developed and incomplete, with no mention of retired individuals at all. While the opening position is clear, the lack of sufficient length and development pulls the task achievement score down significantly into the lower band.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a basic structural framework with an introduction and separate body paragraphs dedicated to different age groups. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'Firstly' and 'Another reason is', which helps the reader follow the general flow of ideas. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped due to the brevity of the text, and referencing is occasionally repetitive. Overall arrangement shows some logical organisation, but the progression is severely constrained by the shortness of the response, limiting the ability to demonstrate a wider range of cohesive features.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate vocabulary range to discuss the topic, employing words and phrases such as 'high pressure situations', 'relaxation', 'self esteem', and 'consistent routine'. There are a few spelling and lexical inaccuracies, most notably 'every body' written as two words and 'crotcheting' misspelled. Additionally, 'an hobby' contains a grammatical error in article usage with a vowel sound. While attempts are made to use less common items, the vocabulary remains somewhat limited and repetitive, which is partly attributable to the brief length of the essay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'For instance, individuals who work in high pressure situations during work hours may be able to relieve their stress...' There are instances of good grammatical control, but also noticeable errors, including article misuse ('an hobby') and minor punctuation or spelling slips. Complex structures are attempted with moderate success, but the overall range is restricted by the short essay length. Errors do not generally impede communication, allowing the text to remain largely understandable.
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