Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-07

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 6.5)

With the long working hours, people have less and less time for leisure activities. Although this situation can bring some advantages but the inconvenience is much more to be compared.

The amout of work hours that people go through each day give them limited time for entertainment, this may have some good outcomes on the person, such as the financial savings he get by avoiding spend it on leisure activities. But on the other hand, this may lead to bad consequences over time, one of the points to mention is these activites are necessary for our life balance and to keep us motivated in our profesionnal life, plus it may be considered as a mean of destress; an illustration of this is when we feel overwhelmed by the work, we go for a walk or a run or maybe go out with a close friend, and we can notice the change before and after this activity.

Another important point is that these kind of activities is our way to develop our thinking and continue to build up our personality, and this is by trying new experiences and meeting new people, otherwise we will be stuck in our limited circle. For example, when someone decides to learn a new sport most of the time he feels more energetic and productive, and by time he makes new friends that he learn new things from them.

After considering both possibilities, we can obviously compare them by their impact on the person, on one hand the long working hours may have some limited benefits, but we can't abondon our well being for hours that will not be returned, so I think we have to prioritise and secure time for our private lives and our hobbies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address both sides of the question and maintain a clear position: the disadvantages of long working hours outweigh the limited financial benefit of spending less on leisure. The discussion of stress relief, motivation, personal development and meeting people is relevant, and the examples of walking, running and learning a sport help illustrate your points. This gives the response a clear, supported argument. Some claims, however, remain broad: for instance, the financial benefit is mentioned briefly, while the effects on personality and productivity could be explained more precisely. To strengthen the response further, develop the comparison by showing more explicitly why the personal and social costs are greater than the financial savings.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall shape: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs develop disadvantages, and the conclusion returns to your position. Ideas generally progress logically, and examples are placed near the points they support. You also use linking expressions such as “on the other hand,” “For example” and “After considering both possibilities.” At times, however, the connections feel mechanical or the references are unclear. The second paragraph moves from financial savings to several costs in one long sentence, while “these kind of activities” does not clearly identify the activities being discussed. Use clearer topic sentences and divide long sequences of ideas into shorter units; this would make the progression smoother and more controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for expressing the argument, and you attempt some topic-appropriate phrases, including “financial savings,” “life balance,” “overwhelmed by the work” and “develop our thinking.” Meaning is generally clear, but several word choices, collocations and spellings are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision. Examples include “the inconvenience is much more to be compared,” “a mean of destress,” and “abondon our well being.” There is also repetition of general terms such as “activities” and “things.” Aim to use more natural collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully. More precise vocabulary for the consequences of overwork and the benefits of leisure would make the argument more fluent and convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including contrast clauses and examples introduced with “when” and “by trying.” The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction. For example, “the amount … give them” needs subject–verb agreement, and “these kind of activities is” has both a demonstrative and agreement problem. In “the financial savings he get,” the verb form is also incorrect. Several sentences join many clauses with commas, making their structure difficult to control. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and finite verb, and use full stops or semicolons to separate complete ideas. This will improve accuracy while preserving your attempts at complex sentences.

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