Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-24

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 5.0)

Nowadays, most of people just wants to earn more due to it they spend most of the time on work .which leaves them with limited opportunities to enjoy leisure activities.Although working long hours can provide financial and career benefits, I believe that this situation has more disadvantages because it can negatively affect people's health, relationships, and quality of life.

Advantages: There are a lot of advantages people who work long hours such as Higher income, career growth ,better financial security these are main cause of working long hours. Everything is expensive like food ,home education and travelling as well. Individuals wants to spend luxurious life , so if they are earning good after they can affrod all the facilities. when people work long hours they can buy what they want to clothes, shoes and car's.

Disadvantages: There are also some disadvantages of working long hours.people who work for long time they have less time for family and friends. Most of the time they spend on work. so they lost that precious time.People who most of the time outside they haeve less time for exercise and hobbies. They cannot enjoy own life.There life becoming more aggresive ,Stressfull and tiredness and hard as compare to normal people.

For example: I have a freind , his father spent whole life outside just for work , meanwhile he cannot get time for children's and wife . He don't know about they nothing.

Conclusion :According to me disadvantages are greater as compare to advantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages, and a clear position is established in the introduction. However, the response is slightly under the 250-word minimum, which impacts the development of ideas. While the arguments regarding financial gain and the negative impact on family life are relevant, they are somewhat superficial and lack depth. The structure is overly simplistic, using headings like 'Advantages' and 'Disadvantages' which is not appropriate for an IELTS essay. To improve, you should focus on developing your points with more detailed explanations and examples, and ensure the essay is written in a cohesive, formal paragraph structure rather than using bullet-point style headings.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organised into distinct sections, but the use of headings ('Advantages:', 'Disadvantages:', 'Conclusion:') is not suitable for an IELTS essay and disrupts the flow. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often mechanical or misused, such as 'due to it they spend' or 'as compare to'. Paragraphing is present, but the logical progression between ideas is hindered by the fragmented structure. To improve, you should use linking words and phrases (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'on the other hand') to connect sentences and paragraphs naturally, and avoid using labels or headings to structure your response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word-choice errors, such as 'most of people just wants to earn more' and 'they lost that precious time'. Some terms are repeated, and the collocations are often unnatural, such as 'spend whole life outside'. To improve, focus on learning common collocations and using more precise vocabulary to express your ideas. For example, instead of 'spend whole life outside', you could use 'devote their entire lives to their careers'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('most of people just wants'), article usage ('the' missing before 'clothes'), and incorrect sentence construction ('Everything is expensive like food ,home education and travelling as well'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with frequent spacing errors around commas and periods. These errors occasionally make the text difficult to follow. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, and proofreading your work to correct punctuation and minor grammatical slips.

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

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