Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-11

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)

In recent years, working hours has become a widely discussed issue. While some believe that working long hours is helpful, others argue that it is not helpful because it leaves very little time for leisure. This essay will examine both the perspectives and explain why having leisure time is important for an individual.

Having work-life balance is important. Vacation and sick days are designed for a reason. They help you detox from regular working life and help you relax by going on a trip or spending quality time with family. The human brain and body is not designed to behave like robots. For instance body gives you signals such as headaches or migraines when you push yourself and overwork. An individual should spend quality time with family by going to a beach or doing some activities like camping which help build sweet memories.

On the other hand, some individuals work long hours because they assume this is means of getting a promotion. For instance, people would work pick up extra shift at work to help co-worker or to create an impression in front of their supervisor. This may create a negative impact on the company's work culture and also create a negative impression among co-workers.

In conclusion, everyone should work hard and also work long hours when there is a deadline. However, this should not be regular habit as it could take a toll on your body and impact your personal or family life. Spending leisure time with family helps create memories which can cherished in future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of working long hours, which aligns with Band 6 criteria. The writer establishes a position early in the introduction and attempts to develop ideas regarding both leisure time and career progression. However, some arguments remain somewhat under-developed or simplistic. For example, the discussion about work culture and co-workers in the third paragraph is brief and lacks concrete extension. The conclusion touches upon important points, but overall, the task is addressed adequately without reaching the fully extended depth required for higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, including an introduction, body paragraphs addressing different perspectives, and a conclusion. Logical progression is generally maintained; however, cohesive devices are sometimes basic, faulty, or missing, as seen in abrupt transitions between sentences (e.g., 'Having work-life balance is important. Vacation and sick days are designed for a reason.'). Referencing is mostly clear, but the overall mechanical nature of the linking places the response firmly within the Band 6 descriptor range.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'work-life balance,' 'leisure activities,' and 'promotion.' There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, though this is occasionally accompanied by word-choice errors or awkward phrasing, such as 'this is means of getting' instead of 'this is a means of getting' and 'can cherished' instead of 'can be cherished.' Nevertheless, these lexical inaccuracies do not impede communication, matching the Band 6 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. The writer demonstrates control over several basic structures, but there are noticeable grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'working hours has become' instead of 'have become', 'body and mind is' instead of 'are') and missing articles or auxiliary verbs (e.g., 'people would work pick up extra shift'). While punctuation is generally functional, the frequency of these grammatical slips places the essay at Band 5.5, rounded to 6.0 as communication is not severely hindered.

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

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