Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-19

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)

In this fast pace world, we need to work extra for having more than bread and butter on the table. But i believe it is damaging a person more than what you earn. We should have spare time more and invest ourself in high skill work so we can balance out our life.

First of all, why we need to work 24/7 ? For no reasons majority of people just want to flex thats the key point to be in such a situation when you don't have time for yourself or family or fiends.For Instance my friend Sachin, He is a data analytics he never took of and always available to company but he always feels low and exhausted. Whenever he takes break he feels like having a second life. One should enhance our skills and what the market demand to meed the inflation and stay relevant to the business.

Moreover, you left your family behind which is essential as much as money. There is a saying "Health is Wealth" . During those long hours at workplace we are compromising heavily with our health. Nevertheless, money is also important but when you compare it with other life journey things you find that useless and man made expenses which you don't need to spend upon. At last, Sachin still stuck in day to day hussel but samir who was also in the same boat understand the life and consider changes in his life and he is happy now.

In Conclusion, we need to work to earn but working to an extent where you are not exhaused is key learning from his essay and spend time on oneself is what i believe is better option.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the disadvantages of working long hours, which aligns with the question of whether there are more advantages or disadvantages. The writer takes a clear position that the situation is damaging, noting that 'it is damaging a person more than what you earn.' However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies heavily on anecdotal evidence about friends such as Sachin and Samir. While the position is understandable, the arguments lack depth and breadth, leading to a tendency to over-generalise. The response addresses all parts of the task in a basic manner, fitting the criteria for Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear attempts at paragraphing and sequencing. The writer uses basic cohesive devices such as 'First of all,' 'Moreover,' and 'In Conclusion,' though referencing is occasionally faulty, such as confusing pronouns ('you left your family behind' and mixing up names like Sachin and Samir towards the end). Paragraphing is utilised, but the flow between sentences can feel slightly disjointed due to punctuation issues and informal transitions. Overall, the logical progression is evident, but the cohesive management is somewhat mechanical, which firmly places this response at Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases like 'bread and butter,' 'stay relevant to the business,' and 'Health is Wealth.' However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'fast pace world' instead of 'fast-paced world,' 'invest ourself,' and 'day to day hussel.' Spelling errors like 'hussel' for 'hustle' and 'meed' for 'meet' occur, but they do not impede overall communication. The lexical range is minimally sufficient to convey the intended meaning, matching the Band 5.5 to 6.0 profile, safely landing at 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as article omissions ('in data analytics'), incorrect verb forms ('why we need to work 24/7 ?'), and punctuation issues (unnecessary spaces before commas and periods). Sentences often contain run-on structures or missing punctuation marks, which require the reader to work harder to parse the meaning. While communication is not severely blocked, the frequency of errors prevents the response from achieving a Band 6.0.

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

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