Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-16

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)

In today's fast paced world, people highly focus on their professional life and do not prioritize on having a hobby. However, having one is extremely necessary as it helps rejuvenate and build on their mental state.

Individuals during each phase of life, need an activity that helps them feel jovial or makes them stress free. Whether be it sports or crafts or health there are numerous activities that one can focus on. Having hobbies and growing them makes one lively; which ultimately makes them more productive and content. This also helps gain knowledge. As per a latest journal article, people having hobbies thrive more in their personal lives. Students today also prefer to build careers in the things they enjoy doing the most. I have also seen elders pursue their area of interest post-retirement and making extra income out of that. There are various courses and institutions that help with different activities to get a hand on. This also helps an economy to grow. As per a study, countries where people pursue their hobbies rank higher on happiness index.

In contrast, to those who do not have one, become more lethargic and do not have anything to dwell to, when in distress. During the spare time or post-retirement, they do not have something to do productive and just waste it by being idle. They become easily impatient and lack on their personal growth.

I strongly opine to having hobbies and gradually building on them. Hobbies give one a perspective on life and become eventually happier.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear throughout: you strongly support having a hobby, and you address its value across different stages of life. You give relevant reasons, including stress relief, personal growth, productivity and possible income after retirement, with examples involving students and older people. This meets the task well. To make the discussion more fully developed, explain a few of these points in greater depth rather than relying on broad claims such as people with hobbies “thrive more” or countries with hobbyists ranking higher on happiness. A specific example showing how a hobby benefits a child or a working adult would also strengthen the range of support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable progression: it introduces the benefits of hobbies, develops examples, contrasts people without hobbies, and ends with a clear opinion. Paragraphing supports this overall arrangement, and links such as “However” and “In contrast” help signal relationships. This is coherent, but some connections are mechanical or unclear, and the central paragraph moves quickly between personal wellbeing, education, retirement income and the economy. The reference in “This also helps an economy to grow” is not fully explained. Group related benefits together and use clearer transitions to show how each example supports your argument; this would make the progression more consistently smooth.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range for the topic, including “rejuvenate,” “productive,” “content,” “lethargic” and “personal growth.” These choices help communicate your main ideas, and you attempt some less common vocabulary. However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “build on their mental state,” “get a hand on,” and “lack on their personal growth.” Some wording is also repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “hobbies” and “helps.” Aim for more natural collocations and precise phrasing, while retaining your clear meaning. For example, describe hobbies as supporting mental wellbeing or helping people develop skills, rather than using less idiomatic combinations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including the contrast introduced by “Whether be it…” and the longer sentence about people pursuing interests after retirement. Meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “Individuals during each phase of life, need” has an unnecessary comma, while “Whether be it” lacks the correct construction (“Whether it is…”). In “those who do not have one, become,” the comma separates the subject from its verb, and “they do not have something to do productive” has an incorrect infinitive pattern. Review clause structure, punctuation and verb patterns, then proofread for these issues. More consistently accurate complex sentences would strengthen control.

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

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