Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-30

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 6.5)

It is evident that having at least one hobby is crucial for people irrespective of the age. I certainly agree with it and truly admire those who have a hobby.

Every stage of life has its own hardships and struggles. A child's incomplete school homework is as stressful as an adult's missed deadline at office. It is in those difficult moments when having a hobby comes handy. It definitely helps an individual to relax and provides a defense against the stress. If I look back at my life, I can clearly remember the time when I was going through an emotional rollercoaster. My love for travelling and listening to music genuinely helped me bear it all.

Along with that, having a hobby also provides you with an outlet to express yourself. For example, the colours on a canvas possess the ability to explicitly show the internal state of someone who paints. The same goes for someone who crochets or likes to make music or creates comics. In my opinion, it is an amazing way to express your emotions and taste.

In addition to that, it can also help you earn a few extra bucks. In rainy days you can take help of your hobby and paint someone's home or clean a garden to make extra money

To sum up, having a hobby can help you cope with difficult situations in life, give you an opportunity to express yourself and can also help you earn money in any age.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response presents a clear position throughout, agreeing with the statement that people of all ages should have a hobby. The writer extends and supports ideas adequately, discussing stress relief, self-expression, and even earning extra income. Examples provided, such as painting, crocheting, and dealing with school or work stress, are relevant and effectively support the main arguments. However, a significant limitation here is the length requirement. As noted in the instructions, the task requires a minimum of 250 words, but this response contains only 248 words. Because this strict minimum word count is not met, a penalty must be applied to Task Achievement, pulling the score down to a 6.0 despite the generally clear content and well-developed ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay presents a clear overall arrangement with logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs discussing stress relief, self-expression, and financial benefits, concluding with a concise summary. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each body paragraph focusing on a distinct point. Cohesive devices are employed fairly well, using phrases like 'Along with that', 'For example', and 'In addition to that' to link ideas. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical. For instance, the phrase 'In rainy days' is awkward and impacts natural cohesion. Overall, the organization is clear and easy to follow, placing the essay comfortably within the Band 7 descriptors for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision, such as 'emotional rollercoaster', 'explicitly show', and 'internal state'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, but some word choices and collocations feel slightly unnatural or inappropriate for formal writing. For example, 'In rainy days you can take help of your hobby' contains awkward phrasing ('take help of' instead of 'rely on' or 'utilize') and an idiom misuse ('In rainy days' instead of 'On rainy days' or metaphorically 'for a rainy day'). Nevertheless, spelling and word choice errors do not impede communication, and the vocabulary used is adequate to convey the intended meaning effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses ('someone who paints') and conditional structures ('If I look back at my life...'). There are frequent error-free sentences, showing decent control over grammar and punctuation. However, a few errors persist throughout the text, such as the missing article in 'irrespective of the age' (should be 'irrespective of age') and preposition misuse in 'at office' (should be 'at the office' or 'at work'). Additionally, the final sentence lacks a preposition at the end: 'earn money in any age' should be 'at any age'. These minor errors do not impede communication, justifying a solid Band 6.5.

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