Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-27
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)
Many individuals these days are working long number of hours which leaves them with little or no time for relaxing activites. This essay belives that there are more disadvantges over adavnatges and we will discuss it in the following paraghraphs.
There are many disadvantages associated with longer with hours. Firstly it has a negative impact on mental and physical health. The brain is continuously functioning while working and goes through a number of emotions every shift, may it be someone working from home or physcially functioning in a factory, there is stress involoved in any kind of job you do which has a slow but irrversible impact on the body. For instance working long hours in front of a computer affects the vision and also triggers spine related problems.Secondly there is little or no family time. Because most of the time is spent at work people start to withdraw from their loved one's which affects the relations in some cases they even miss important family events or special dates and are never availabe in the time of need . For example a friend of mine, who works a corporate job missed the birth of his child because of an important meeting in the office.
Furthermore, there are also a few advantages to this situation first one being. Some who are in desperate need of money. Mass majority today live of loans which require them to make timely payments for such people the only goal is to get rid of the debt and live a free life, for them working huge amount of hours is idol. Secondly many notorius people believe that working keeps them out of trouble. Few members of the s
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The essay addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages, maintaining a clear position that the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. However, the response is incomplete, as it cuts off abruptly in the final paragraph. While the initial arguments regarding health and family are relevant and supported with examples, the development of the advantages section is truncated. To reach a higher band, the essay must be fully developed and reach a logical conclusion. The current state of the response limits the depth of the argument, as the final point remains unfinished.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay uses basic paragraphing and some cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Furthermore'. However, the progression of ideas is interrupted by the incomplete nature of the text. The use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'for such people the only goal', where the link to the previous sentence could be smoother. While there is an attempt at logical organization, the abrupt ending significantly impacts the overall coherence of the piece, making it difficult to follow the writer's final intended message.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks sophistication. There are several spelling errors, such as 'belives', 'disadvantges', 'adavnatges', 'paraghraphs', 'physcially', 'involoved', 'irrversible', 'availabe', and 'notorius'. These errors are frequent and occasionally distracting. While the writer attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'corporate job' and 'timely payments', the range is limited. To improve, the writer should focus on accuracy in spelling and attempt to incorporate more precise, academic collocations to convey ideas more effectively.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include missing articles ('in the time of need'), incorrect pluralization ('loved one's'), and punctuation errors, particularly with comma usage and run-on sentences. For example, 'Firstly it has a negative impact' lacks a comma after the transition, and 'For instance working long hours' also requires punctuation. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors in basic grammar and punctuation prevents the essay from reaching a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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