Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-23

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)

It is believed that children, teenagers, employees and retired people should have at least one hobby as this can be beneficial. Although, I believe this view too as this can be a way to reduce stress and also improves mental health.

Firstly, having a hobby regardless of the age group and occupational situation is very important as this can help reduce stress after a stressful day and improves relaxation. For example, a doctor whose hobby is football, after a stressful day gets home, take his or her shower, then sits to watch a football game and forgets how stressed he or she was earlier before the football. Hence,he was able to relax properly doing something he or she finds interesting.

Secondly, having a hobby helps all age group regardless of the individual's occupation improves the mental health or function. For example, an individual was has been sad all day, went out with friends to a party where loud music is play. On returning, the individual becomes happier and more relaxed because going out was a hobby for the individual.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is broadly clear: you agree that people of all ages should have a hobby, and you give two relevant reasons—reducing stress and supporting mental well-being. The examples of a doctor watching football and someone going to a party help illustrate these points. However, the response addresses the task only partially because the ideas are brief and not fully explained; the party example, in particular, does not clearly show how a hobby improves mental health over time. The response also contains 179 words, below the required 250, so there is not enough development to support your position fully. Extend each reason with explanation and a more specific example, and make your opinion explicit in a clear concluding statement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs signalled by “Firstly” and “Secondly,” and examples that follow the main points. This makes the overall arrangement coherent. However, progression is limited because both paragraphs repeat similar claims about hobbies helping people, without developing distinct aspects of the argument. Some links are mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “For example” and “Hence.” Referencing is also unclear in places: the doctor example shifts between “his or her” and “he,” making it harder to follow who is being discussed. Develop a clearer sequence within each paragraph—claim, explanation, example, and link back to your opinion—and use pronouns consistently.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “hobby,” “reduce stress,” “relaxation,” and “mental health.” These choices are generally understandable, but the range is limited and several phrases are repetitive or imprecise, such as “stressful day” and “becomes happier and more relaxed.” Some collocations are awkward, including “improves relaxation” and “loud music is play,” which reduce naturalness. Aim for more precise expressions and vary the wording when discussing benefits. For example, you could describe hobbies as helping people “unwind,” “manage stress,” or “support emotional well-being,” while ensuring that each phrase fits the context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a clause beginning “Although” and examples with relative clauses. However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For instance, “Although, I believe this view too” is not a complete, correctly formed contrast, while “a doctor … gets home … take his or her shower” shifts between verb forms and agreement. In “an individual was has been sad,” the verb construction is incorrect, and “all age group … improves” has problems with number and sentence structure. Practise building accurate sentences with one clear subject and consistent verb forms, then check agreement, articles, and punctuation.

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.