Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-26
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)
Today, most owners gather information related to family, hobbies and interests of people when they apply for new job. According to some parties it is relevant information but some people disagree with this scenario. I shall discuss the both views and give my opinion in the conclusion.
Firstly, every hiring manager ask these question in there interview such as what are your hobbies, do you have any particular interest, and what do you do in your free time. For every job, hiring staff just collect basic information about person first so that they will get to know the person and their point of view on some simple questions.
Secondly, employers sometimes ask questions whether the person is married or single. It is also basic knowledge collected by employers. Moreover, when people apply for new jobs, question raised by employers is why you want to leave your current employer. So i think asking these question should not be big problem for people.
On the other hand side, people believe that these questions are irrelevant. Employer should more focused towards asking job seeker that why they need this job? what experienced that person have in the related field of job? Do that person have certain skills to perform this job? or do that person have any certification related to that job. So basically according to people who oppose this they more straight towards asking questions related to job instead of their personal information.
In my opinion, both parties have relevant view but i am in the favor of asking personal question because this gives person confidence in their first interview and they urge to get that job and do well in other rounds.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, meeting the basic requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is limited. The arguments regarding why personal information might be relevant are somewhat superficial, focusing on 'basic knowledge' rather than professional relevance. Similarly, the counter-argument is underdeveloped, lacking specific examples of why such questions might be considered intrusive or discriminatory. The conclusion is brief and does not fully synthesize the points discussed. To improve, you should provide more depth and specific examples to support your claims, ensuring that your reasoning is clearly linked to the context of professional recruitment.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'On the other hand side'). Some transitions are awkward, such as 'On the other hand side', which is not standard usage. The progression of ideas within paragraphs is occasionally disjointed, particularly in the second paragraph where the transition from hobbies to marital status and then to reasons for leaving a job feels abrupt. Improving the variety and precision of your linking words will help create a smoother flow between your ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'basic information', 'new job', and 'simple questions'. There are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'owners' instead of 'employers' and 'urge to get that job' which is not the most natural collocation in this context. To achieve a higher score, you should aim to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to human resources and professional conduct, such as 'professional background', 'candidate suitability', or 'privacy concerns'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'every hiring manager ask these question'), missing articles ('in their interview'), and incorrect pluralization ('these question'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of question marks in the third paragraph. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and subject-verb agreement will significantly improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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