Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-18
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 5.5)
Nowadays, due to busy working lifestyle at workplace people are not taking much time for relaxation. Which can cause them health issues and family problems. In this essay, I will discuss the effects of this kind of lifestyle on our generation and how people should do their work life balance.
At the first, working continuously for long hours can cause number of health problems such as migraine, sleeping issues. On the other hand, while working people are not considerate about their diet. which can cause them malnutrition. Sometimes because of this people are not available for their families and this kind behaviour can lead divorce too.
At the second place, individuals should know how to manage their personal and professional lifestyle simultaneously. If they will not prioritize their health at first place it can lead them any harmful disease in future. For instance, taking care employees health should be important for the respective companies also. They should have some areas at the workplace where their employees can take rest from there busy schedule. By doing this their teams will be more enthusiastic and devoted for their work.
In my opinion, working for extended hours and not giving enough time to yourself and your family is always an disadvantage. Exceptionally working for more hours for some deadlines or project is quiet normal but, doing this in daily basis is not an option. In the end, giving time to leisure activities does not mean that people are not serious about their work. They should just balance both the sides well.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing the disadvantages of long working hours. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention health issues and family problems, these points are not fully extended with specific examples or deep analysis. The position is clear, but the essay lacks a balanced view, as it focuses almost exclusively on the negative aspects without exploring potential advantages (such as financial stability or career progression) to justify the 'more advantages or disadvantages' comparison. To reach a higher band, ensure you provide more detailed explanations and evidence for each point raised.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, 'At the first' and 'At the second place' are not standard English transitions. Additionally, some sentences are fragmented, such as 'Which can cause them health issues...' and '...diet. which can cause them malnutrition.' These errors disrupt the flow of ideas. Improving the variety and accuracy of linking words and ensuring that sentences are complete will significantly improve the coherence of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'busy working lifestyle' and 'harmful disease'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'do their work life balance' (should be 'achieve a work-life balance') and 'lead divorce' (should be 'lead to divorce'). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'chronic stress', 'professional obligations', or 'detrimental impact', and focus on using words in their correct collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement, incorrect preposition usage, and punctuation errors, such as starting sentences with 'Which' or 'And'. For instance, 'If they will not prioritize their health at first place it can lead them any harmful disease' contains multiple errors in tense and preposition usage. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like missing articles and incorrect verb forms.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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