Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-17

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people think it's better to choose friends who always have the same opinions as them. Other people believe it's good to have friends who sometimes disagree with them.

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)

Some people believe that it is preferable to have friends who share the same opinions and benefits, whereas it would be beneficial to have arguments between friends. I partially agree with the given statements, as similar opinions allow friends to strengthen their friendship and get a support during challenging time, whereas disagreement encourage them to develop critical-thinking skills and make their decision more reliable and stronger.

On the one hand, having a friends who share same interest, choices and ideas facilitate them to have comfort and security during tuff situations and reduce the chances of conflicts. For example, if two friends have same opinion for one project in group work, it will offer them chances to complete their tasks effectively without any arguments, they can meet their deadline or maybe get good grades and appreciation for their excellent team work. Additionally, similar ideas access them opportunities to stronger their relationship and share life-long bonding. Sometimes people also feel comfortable to share their problems with their best friends who understand them and agree with them.

On the other hand, having different opiniated friendship has it's own benefits. To begin with, expressing diverse ideas for one subject encourage them to broaden their perspective and use their logic in order to prove their opinion. Moreover, it will promote them to find various possibilities and sharpen their brain activities and problem-solving capability. As a result, it would be responsible for their overall growth and development of essential skills, which can be helpful in the future to cope with unforeseen challenges. Sometimes arguments have negative impacts on their friendship and weaken their bond if arguments become tens and aggressive.

In conclusion, similar opiniated friendship offers them convenience, stronger their relationship and get support during problematic situations. However, disagreements foster them to think differently in order to present their opinion and gain in-depth knowledge regarding discussing topics.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both viewpoints and providing a clear personal opinion in the introduction. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, such as the benefits of comfort in like-minded friendships and the cognitive growth fostered by disagreement. However, the development is slightly uneven; the second body paragraph is more analytical, while the first relies on a specific example of group work that feels slightly narrow. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points, though it could have been more explicitly linked to the personal opinion stated earlier. Overall, the response meets the requirements for a Band 6.5, leaning towards 7.0 for its clear position and logical development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two opposing views. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'To begin with', and 'As a result' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, there are some instances of mechanical or slightly awkward referencing, such as 'similar ideas access them opportunities', which disrupts the flow. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the transition between sentences could be smoother in places to achieve a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express complex ideas. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'unforeseen challenges' and 'broaden their perspective'. However, there are several instances of inaccurate word choice and collocation, such as 'different opiniated friendship', 'tuff' (spelling error for 'tough'), and 'arguments become tens' (likely meant 'tense'). These errors do not impede communication, but they indicate a need for more precise control over word forms and collocations to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the writer attempts complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and word forms (e.g., 'having a friends', 'similar opiniated friendship', 'foster them to think'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor errors, such as the missing apostrophe in 'it's' (used as a possessive). The errors are noticeable but rarely impede the reader's understanding of the main points. To improve, the writer should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and refining complex sentence construction.

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