Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-20

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Employers sometimes ask people applying for jobs for personal information, such as their hobbies and interests, and whether they are married or single. Some people say that this information may be relevant and useful. Others disagree.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Thesedays employers ask candidates applying for jobs for information like their hobbies, marital status and single. In this passage will discuss both advantages and disadvantages of asking personal information to a interviewer.

To begin with, asking information like hobbies and interest have benefits during hiring process to find out that interviewer is right for the position or not. For instance, job like personal trainer, if candidate like to do workout then it going to be perfect fit for the position than the person who do not like workout because if they do not exercise they might be not physically strong enough to handle client when needed so in situation like this asking about interest and hobbies will help employer significantly.

However, question like marital status have disadvantages too because judging candidates from their marriage would be an unfair decision. Many employer tend to hire person on marital status basis and the would like to hire person who are single because employer think that if person has problem in their marriage then their working outcome will decline and that doesn't give equal opportunity to the candidates who are married.

I believe that in some case asking personal qiestion has many benefits and drawbacks so employer should ask personal question when it's necessary. In many jobs, knowing prior about interviewer interest is very useful so employer must ask those question without any biased opinion.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion. However, the essay is under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of the discussion. The ideas are relevant but somewhat under-developed; for example, the argument regarding marital status is a bit repetitive and lacks a nuanced exploration of why employers might seek this information beyond simple discrimination. The position is clear, but the brevity prevents a fully developed response that would merit a higher band. Because the length requirement was not met, the score is impacted.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. There is a logical progression from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited (e.g., 'To begin with', 'However'). Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the use of 'interviewer' when the context clearly refers to the 'interviewee' or 'candidate'. While the overall arrangement is coherent, the lack of sophisticated linking words and the repetitive nature of some transitions keep this in the mid-range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There are several instances of word-choice errors, such as using 'interviewer' instead of 'candidate' or 'interviewee', and 'working outcome' instead of 'work performance'. The range is limited, and the student relies on basic phrasing. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise collocations and academic vocabulary related to the workplace and hiring processes. The errors do not impede communication, but they do restrict the range of expression.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('asking information... have benefits'), article usage ('job like personal trainer'), and pluralisation ('asking those question'). While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors is noticeable. The student attempts complex structures, but they are often marred by inaccuracies. A higher score would require more error-free sentences and better control over basic grammatical rules.

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

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