Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-05
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Many people work long hours, leaving very little time for leisure activities.
Does this situation have more advantages or more disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 6.0)
Nowdays,it is common for many peaple to work long hours,which leaves then with hardly any time for hobbies,relaxiation or family.while there may be some benefits to woeking lomger, I firmly believe that the drawbacks are for greater,and this situation brings more harm than goods.
On the one hand spending more time at work can bring certain short term benefits.
Employees may finish more tasks,becam more protentially earn higgher salaries through overtime pay.For some peaple,working longer alsohelp them gain promotion faster and achive career goals sooner.From an employers point of view.longer working hours can mean more output and better business results especially in competitive industries.however, these benefits often come at asignificant personal cost.
on the negtive side, there are serious consequences when people work too much and have little leisure time .first and foremost, It damages physical and mental health,people become stressed tired and more likely to suffer from illnesses such as heart disease or anxiety.for example,people has friend who whoed 12 hours a day for several months
in conclunsion ,although woeking long hours may seem beneficial in the short term,the disadvantages clearly outweigh the advantages. pooor health.damaged relationships. and a lower quality of life are too high a price to pay.I belive that emplovers and society should encourage a better woek life balance,because a healthy happy person in ultimately more productive then someone who is overworked.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
Your position is clear: you believe the disadvantages of long working hours outweigh the benefits, and you address both sides of the question. The benefits paragraph gives relevant points about overtime pay, promotion and business output. You also identify important costs, including health, relationships and quality of life. However, the disadvantages are not developed as fully as the advantages: the example about a person working 12 hours is incomplete and does not explain what happened or how limited leisure caused harm. The response also falls short of the required 250 words. Develop the health and relationship effects with a complete, specific example and explain the link to your overall judgement more fully.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph presenting benefits, a paragraph on disadvantages and a conclusion. Linking phrases such as “On the one hand,” “however” and “in conclusion” help signal the direction of the argument, and your final position is consistent with the introduction. This provides a coherent foundation. However, progression within the disadvantages paragraph breaks down around the unfinished example, and the conclusion’s list—“poor health, damaged relationships, and a lower quality of life”—is not smoothly connected to the preceding discussion. Some transitions feel formulaic rather than guiding developed reasoning. Use clearer links between each claim, its explanation and its example, and ensure every paragraph is complete.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “overtime pay,” “career goals,” “competitive industries,” “physical and mental health” and “work-life balance.” These choices show some range beyond basic language and generally make your intended argument understandable. However, spelling errors are very noticeable, including “Nowdays,” “relaxiation,” “negtive” and “conclunsion,” while inaccurate forms such as “more harm than goods” and “more protentially” weaken precision. Some phrases are also awkward or unclear, particularly “a healthy happy person in ultimately more productive.” Proofread carefully and learn common collocations as complete phrases; accurate, natural wording will make your ideas easier to follow and more convincing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You use both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a concession in “although working long hours may seem beneficial in the short term” and a reason clause with “because.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the main argument can usually be understood. However, there are some errors in sentence boundaries, agreement and verb forms. For example, “people has friend” has incorrect agreement, and “Employees may finish more tasks, become…” needs a clearer grammatical connection between the actions. Several sentences run together without appropriate punctuation, while the opening has a lower-case “while” after a full stop. Aim to produce complete, accurately punctuated sentences and check subject–verb agreement and verb forms during revision.
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