Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-05

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 6.5)

Many individuals work overtime, leaving very less time for leisure activities. This situation have many disadvantages over advantages, which will be discussed in the ensuing paragraphs before drawing a rational conclusion at the end.

To begin with merits of working for more hours, if people work for more hours, then they will get more pay. As a result, their financial stability will improve. Moreover, they might also have more chances of getting promotion, as they are working for hours.

Moving with its demerits, there are many disadvantages of working for long hours. Firstly, people may take less sleep due to long working schedules, which can easily make them ill. As a result, their overall health will decline. For example, according to one study, people who do not take enough sleep, they have higher chances of getting depression episodes. Secondly, leisure activities like playing outdoor games such as Tennis and Football have many health benefits, such as they burn calories and make person physically as well as mentally fit. If person is ignoring importance of these activities, then one day they might suffer from non-communicable diseases such diabetes or obesity due to lack of physical activities. Lastly, leisure activities refreshen person's mood, and they also make them more sociable. If person is not actively engage in such activities, then they might feel loneliness.

In conclusion, although working for long hours have few benefits like they make people rich and higher chances of career growth, its drawbacks such as high chances of getting diseases and feeling of socially isolated certainly outrank its advantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task and maintains a clear position throughout. The argument that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages is well-supported with relevant points regarding health, social isolation, and physical well-being. The ideas are extended with logical explanations, such as the link between sleep deprivation and depression, and the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. While the development is generally good, some points could be further refined with more specific real-world examples to reach a higher band. Overall, the response is focused and directly answers the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', 'Firstly', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to link ideas. However, there are minor issues with referencing and flow; for instance, the phrase 'Moving with its demerits' is slightly unnatural. Additionally, the use of articles and pronouns is occasionally inconsistent, which slightly affects the smoothness of the text, but the overall structure remains clear and coherent.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to express ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary such as 'financial stability', 'non-communicable diseases', and 'socially isolated'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'leaving very less time' (should be 'very little time') and 'refreshen person's mood' (should be 'refresh a person's mood'). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but more precise and sophisticated vocabulary would be required to reach a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding article usage ('the importance', 'a person'), subject-verb agreement ('This situation have', 'If person is'), and pluralization. For example, 'people who do not take enough sleep, they have' is a redundant structure. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and ensuring consistent use of articles and singular/plural forms.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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