Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-26
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 5.0)
It is often argued that people, regardless of their age, should have at least one hobby. I strongly agree with this view because hobbies not only make life more enjoyable but also help individuals reduce stress and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Using hobby to reduce the stress:
One of the main reson to have prefer activity in daily life help us to unwinds after working every day. For example, I am working monday to friday in office setting and due to overload of daily assignment I get drained at the end of week. Therefore, during the weekend I would love to play volleyball with my neighbours to relieve my chronic stress.Personally after playing the game during the weekeend I prepared myself to work efficiently for next week.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
You state a clear opinion in the introduction: you “strongly agree” that people should have a hobby, and you give relevant reasons about enjoyment, stress, and work-life balance. The volleyball example also helps illustrate how a hobby could benefit a working adult. However, the response addresses the task only minimally: it develops just one reason, and does not explain how hobbies might benefit children, young adults, or retired people. The second reason named in the introduction is not developed, and there is no concluding summary. The response is also 122 words below the required minimum, leaving too little space to support the position adequately. Develop several reasons with specific examples and complete the essay with a conclusion.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introductory paragraph gives your position, followed by a section about stress and a personal example. Connectors such as “For example” and “Therefore” help show how the example relates to your point. However, the overall progression is limited because the essay stops after this single supporting point; the work-life-balance idea introduced earlier is not carried forward, and there is no conclusion. The heading “Using hobby to reduce the stress” also feels more like a note than a developed paragraph topic sentence. Build a clear sequence of body paragraphs, each focused on one reason, and use a final paragraph to bring the argument together. Check that linking phrases express the relationship between ideas accurately.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “work-life balance,” “overload,” “drained,” and “relieve my chronic stress.” These choices communicate the general idea and show attempts to use more specific language than basic terms. However, several phrases are awkward or inaccurate, such as “prefer activity,” “daily assignment,” and “prepared myself to work efficiently.” Spelling and word-form slips, including “reson” and “weekeend,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for natural collocations and check spelling carefully; for example, you could describe a hobby as a “preferred activity,” refer to a “heavy workload,” and say that you feel “re-energised for the following week.” A broader range of precise vocabulary would help express the argument more flexibly.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You use a mix of sentence forms, including a complex opening with “because” and a cause-and-effect sentence beginning “Therefore.” The main ideas are generally understandable, and the introduction is grammatically controlled. However, errors appear in several sentence patterns: “One of the main reson to have prefer activity … help us to unwinds” has problems with sentence construction, verb form, and agreement, while “I am working monday to friday in office setting” needs more accurate tense and article use. The final sentence also shifts awkwardly between past and present forms (“I prepared myself”). Work on complete sentence structures, consistent tense, subject–verb agreement, and articles. Proofreading these patterns will make your meaning clearer and more reliable.
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