Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-12

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)

There are employers require applicant to include their hobbies and marital status in their job application. There are people agree and disagree with the useful information. In this essay, I will outline both view and give my opinion and experience.

To understand one's hobby, it tells the character and personality. The company prefer to get in the applicant who's character suitable to handle the job. Normally a person who is actively involve in sport prefer to work as a sales person. They dislike sitting in the office. In addition, marital status could be an information about to what extend a person commit to the job. Normally a married woman will take more emergency leave than single woman due to kid schooling matters. When I found my daughter fall sick, I will apply for leave to take her to daughter.

However, some people may find that it is not absolute to see one's character base on hobbies. They are many people who likes to play badminton prefer to work as backend work quietly. My husband is belong to this category. On the other hand, marriage women could be a person who is fully commit to the job due to heavy family commitment. For my case, I not only need to share the burden of my own family. I also need to bear for my parents as well. Hence, although I take emergency leave with unexpected, I work all the way out during working.

Finally, one shoe doesn't fit all. To see if a person can be well performed in the job, the core is to look at one's need.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on whether personal information like hobbies and marital status should be requested by employers, and the writer includes a clear personal opinion. The ideas are extended with relevant examples drawn from personal experience, such as mentioning 'When I found my daughter fall sick'. However, some arguments tend to over-generalise, such as assuming 'Normally a married woman will take more emergency leave than single woman due to kid schooling matters'. While all requirements of the task prompt are covered, the development of ideas is occasionally limited by superficial generalisations. Therefore, the performance aligns well with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into an introduction, supporting paragraphs representing opposing views, and a brief conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised, though some paragraphs are quite brief. Cohesive devices are used, but they are sometimes faulty or mechanical, such as 'In addition', 'However', and 'On the other hand'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'some people may find that it is not absolute to see one's character base on hobbies'. The progression of ideas is discernible, but the lack of smoother transitions and occasional awkward grouping of sentences place this text firmly at Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their main ideas about employment and personal life. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary and phraseology, such as 'marital status', 'emergency leave', and 'family commitment'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and inaccurate word choices throughout the text, including 'There are employers require', 'get in the applicant', 'character base on hobbies', and 'My husband is belong to this category'. These inaccuracies, along with frequent grammatical word-form slips, constrain the precision of the response, justifying a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating clauses with 'although', 'when', and relative pronouns. However, there is a high frequency of grammatical errors and structural inaccuracies that can cause difficulty for the reader. Examples include missing auxiliary verbs and prepositions, such as 'There are employers require', 'to what extend a person commit', 'to take her to daughter', and 'I not only need to share the burden of my own family. I also need to bear for my parents as well.' Punctuation and subject-verb agreement errors are also persistent throughout the essay. Because errors are frequent and occasionally impede smooth reading, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.

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.