Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-29

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 6.5)

While some people believe that, it is common for employers to ask job applicants about their personal interest and family status. This information can help employers to select suitable candidates, other argue that it is completely irrelevant to a person's ability to do a work. In my opinion, although hobbies can provide some useful information, employers should mainly focus on their qualifications, skills and experience.

One reason why employers may ask about hobbies is that personal interest can reveal useful information. This is because activities such as playing sports, volunteering, and public speaking can help developing skills like leadership, teamwork and communication. For example, a person who regularly play football must have experience working with others towards a common goal. As a result, information about hobbies can sometimes help employers to understand candidate's personality and additional abilities.

On the other hand, personal information may have little connection with person's ability to perform particular job. Employers should mainly focus their pervious experience, qualifications and professional skills to perform particular job when selecting a candidate.. For example, whether an applicant is single or married does not make them less qualified to perform their duties successfully in their accountant job. Furthermore, using a personal information during hiring process may lead to unfair assumptions or discrimination. Therefore. employers should mainly focus to their job duties rather than focusing on personal information.

In conclusion, personal interest can sometimes give employers useful information about a candidate's skills and personality. However, I believe qualifications, skills and experience should be a major factor while selecting a suitable candidate.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on whether personal information is relevant to employers and providing a clear personal opinion. The position is maintained throughout the essay. The first body paragraph effectively argues how hobbies help develop transferable skills such as leadership and teamwork, using examples like playing football. The second body paragraph covers the opposing view regarding professional qualifications and the risks of unfair discrimination. While some ideas could be slightly more deeply elaborated to reach higher bands, the overall task fulfillment is solid and covers the prompt adequately, earning a band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into four distinct paragraphs, following a standard introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'One reason why', 'On the other hand', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used appropriately to signal transitions between ideas. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and contributes to a coherent overall arrangement. However, some referencing is slightly clunky, and certain cohesive links feel a bit mechanical, preventing it from reaching a higher score. Nonetheless, progression is clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'transferable skills', 'discrimination', and 'professional qualifications'. There are, however, some word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'personal interest' instead of 'personal interests', 'do a work' instead of 'do work', and 'focus to their job duties' instead of 'focus on'. Despite these errors, meaning is never impeded, and the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main arguments effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional and subordinate clauses like 'While some people believe that...' and 'whether an applicant is single or married does not make them less qualified...'. There are several grammatical errors present, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('a person who regularly play football'), missing articles ('perform particular job'), and punctuation errors involving stray full stops ('Therefore. employers'). However, these errors rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the arguments without difficulty.

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