Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-22

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)

Nowadays, Majority of the people work longer hours which leaves them with very little time for leisure activities. Although, it provide

the financial benefits, I believe there are more disadvantages of this over the advantages.

One of the main significant reason of working long hours ,people are able to earn money.In some jobs, they are able to work overtime which benefit them to build their financial stability.For example, extra hours on job brings extra money which they can use it as a saving, education or to build a home.Another merit related to working overtime is to acquire more knowledge and advanced experience.

Despite this advantages, excessive working hours can cause serious problems related to health.People who work continuously without sufficient rest may suffer from stress, exhaustion and lack of sleep which directly effects human physical and mental well being.Moreover, these issues significantly reduce the productivity and the quality of life.Furthermore, hectic schedule also impact the interpersonal relationship.For instance, spending less leisure time with family leads to less participation in family activities which cause the personal problems.

In addition, leisure activities are essential for maintaining the work balance and healthy lifestyle.Activities such as exercising, meeting friends and puuing hobbies can help people to relax and reduce the stress. Meanwhile, working longer hours , they feel unhappy and dissatisfied even with good salary.

In conclusion, although working long hours can provide financial advantages and opportunities for career development, I believe the disadvantages has a major drawbacks on relations and heath.The balance approach between work and leisure time should be reasonable to maintain coordination in life cycle.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position that the disadvantages of working long hours outweigh the advantages. The ideas are relevant, covering financial benefits, health implications, and social impacts. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, while you mention 'financial stability' and 'health problems,' these points could be further extended with more specific examples or deeper analysis to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes your stance, though it contains some minor grammatical errors that slightly detract from the clarity of your argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'Moreover,' 'Furthermore,' and 'In addition' to link your ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is interrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'One of the main significant reason of working long hours ,people are able to earn money.' Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'financial stability,' 'interpersonal relationship,' and 'dissatisfied.' However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'puuing hobbies' (likely a typo for 'pursuing') and 'the disadvantages has a major drawbacks.' These errors do not impede communication, but they indicate a need for more precise control over vocabulary. To improve, focus on using collocations correctly and proofreading for minor spelling errors that occur during the drafting process.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('the' before 'Majority'), subject-verb agreement issues ('it provide' instead of 'it provides'), and incorrect preposition usage. Additionally, there are several punctuation errors, particularly with comma placement. While these errors rarely impede the reader's understanding, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent article usage would significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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