Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-06
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)
Today's world of industrialization and globalization, working hours are considerably high leaving a short span for leisure activities. In the world of corporate, focus is always on meeting the deadlines and working the expectations of the company leaving no time for leisure activities. This current scenario leaves an impression of poor work -life balance.
According to my perspective, working long hours is crucial to meet the financial expectations of life and to excel more toward progress in career. For instance, a simple grocery expense is getting high as compared to early times which creates a urge to earn more leading to increasing work hours. On the other hand, working more leads to have short or no time for leisure activities where one can refrain from the chaos of office.
I firmly believe that there should be a balance in working hours and leisure activities so that life could function and adapt well. Working more leads to stress, anxiety and constant mental breakdowns ultimately harm ourselves, our financial goals somehow felt satisfied but health suffers. Whereas doing leisure activities along with work and balancing parallel to each other creating a sense of work -life balance and one can have better life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 200 words. This significantly impacts the development of ideas, as the arguments remain superficial and lack sufficient depth or illustrative examples. While you address the prompt by discussing both the financial benefits and the health-related disadvantages of long working hours, the lack of length prevents a full exploration of the topic. To improve, you must expand your supporting points with more detailed explanations and concrete examples to ensure the response is fully developed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into three paragraphs, which is a logical structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. For example, you use 'On the other hand' and 'Whereas' to signal contrast, but the flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed. The progression of ideas is clear, but the lack of length makes the overall structure feel underdeveloped. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence followed by well-connected supporting details.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You use some appropriate terms like 'industrialization,' 'globalization,' and 'work-life balance,' but there are also instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'working the expectations of the company' and 'creates a urge.' The vocabulary is somewhat repetitive, and there is limited use of less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise collocations and academic synonyms will help improve your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include 'working hours are considerably high leaving a short span' (missing punctuation/conjunction) and 'working more leads to have short or no time' (incorrect verb form). There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors limits the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct sentence construction will be beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.