Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The growing trend of spending less time for leisure activities has brought both positive and negative consequences. While there are certain drawbacks associated with this development, I firmly believe that the advantages are far more significant than that of disadvantages.

On the one hand, there are valid concerns regarding the drawbacks of spending less time for leisure activities such as physical and mental fitness. This is primarily because playing sports during spare time helps the person to build their muscles and physical fitness. For instance, a survey was conducted by Oxford university, it was noted that the performance at Dell Company increased sharply once they started giving a break of an hour in between their working schedule.

On the other hand, a much stronger case can be made for the benefits of spending less time for the leisure activities. The main rationale behind this is focus; when a person takes break from the work, they break the flow in their performance at the workplace. To illustrate this, an experiment was conducted on professors in Delhi, the Delhi Public School had shortened the recess of an hour to just 15 minutes before the final exams, so the teachers can make a proper plan on teaching. Hence, students studied well and scored more marks then the projectile one.

In conclusion, while there are valid concerns that people may loose their physical fitness, I firmly believe that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks because of less distraction that leads to progress at the workplace.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the advantages of working long hours outweigh the disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is inconsistent. The argument regarding 'focus' is somewhat illogical, as it conflates working long hours with the necessity of taking breaks. The examples provided, such as the Dell Company survey and the Delhi Public School experiment, are vague and lack sufficient detail to be convincing. To improve, ensure that your supporting arguments are logically sound and that your examples directly relate to the specific prompt about long working hours versus leisure time, rather than general workplace productivity.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'In conclusion' are used to signal the structure. However, some transitions feel mechanical, and the connection between sentences within paragraphs is occasionally weak. For instance, the transition between the Dell example and the argument about physical fitness is abrupt. Additionally, the use of referencing is sometimes unclear, which affects the flow of the argument. Improving the variety of cohesive devices and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their position clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'rationale' and 'consequences'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and minor errors, such as 'projectile one' (which is unclear) and 'loose' instead of 'lose'. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, and the repetition of phrases like 'spending less time for leisure activities' suggests a need for more varied synonyms to demonstrate a higher level of lexical flexibility.

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 with articles ('the Dell Company', 'the Delhi Public School') and preposition usage. There are also issues with sentence construction, such as the comma splice in the second paragraph: 'For instance, a survey was conducted by Oxford university, it was noted that...'. These errors, while not impeding communication, occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct punctuation in complex sentences will help improve your accuracy.

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

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