Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-15

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 6.5)

A good number of people work long hours without time for leisure activities. This essay will discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of this.

On the one hand, working long hours gives people financial freedom and reduces liabilities. Many people who work long hours, are seeking financial freedom from their physically demanding jobs. These persons feel working long hours will allow them make the amount of money they need. Furthermore, long hours of working reduces liabilities which can be incurred from leisure activities. Many leisure activities are costly and financially demanding. A busy person will spend less time paying for dinner or vacations associated with leisure. These persons are just too busy to take out time for a break. For instance, a Chief executive officer who owns multiple companies has little or no time to spend on leisure activities which can cause increased liability.

On the other hand, working long hours with little or no time for leisure activities can lead to burnout and reduced social circle. The human body needs at least 8 hours of sleep.This is neccessary for body repair and brain functioning. Without sufficient rest and break periods, an individual can be burntout. This will be detrimental to the health of the individual. Several research has shown that lack of leisure can lead to physical and mental breakdown. Additionally, working long hours can also result in reduced social circle. Spending long durations at work, leaves individuals with little or no time to socialize with friends and family. This may result in losing of valuable frienships and loneliness. For instance, a busy Medical director, has little or no time to connect with loved ones. This may result in emotional disconnection in his social life.

In conclusion, people working long durations without time for leisure activities has its pros which includes financial freedom and reduced liability. Although the disadvantages outweighs the advantage. The disadvantage includes burnout and reduced social circle.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the question and give a clear final judgement that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The two main drawbacks—burnout and a smaller social circle—are relevant and supported with explanations about health, relationships, and examples of busy professionals. This meets the task well, while the financial benefits are less fully established: the claim that long hours create “financial freedom” is asserted rather than explained, and the point about avoiding leisure costs does not show that this is a meaningful advantage overall. To strengthen the response, develop each main idea with a clearer cause-and-effect explanation and make your comparative judgement more explicit throughout, not only in the conclusion. The position is present, but its support is uneven in places.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the argument, and the examples are placed alongside the relevant points. However, some linking feels mechanical, and ideas within paragraphs are not always connected smoothly. For example, the move from financial freedom to reduced liabilities is abrupt, while “These persons” is repeated and its reference is not always precise. The conclusion also repeats the main points rather than drawing the comparison together. For stronger progression, use clearer links between claims and explanations, vary referencing, and make the final paragraph synthesise why the disadvantages carry greater weight.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “financial freedom,” “physically demanding,” “burnout,” “detrimental,” and “emotional disconnection.” These choices allow you to discuss both financial and personal consequences. There are also attempts at less common phrasing, but some combinations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “reduced liabilities” for the costs of leisure, “reduced social circle,” and “losing of valuable frienships.” Spelling slips such as “neccessary” and “frienships” also reduce accuracy. Aim to choose collocations that express your intended meaning precisely—for example, distinguish between reducing expenses and reducing liabilities—and check spelling during revision. More precise, natural phrasing would make the argument clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including relative clauses (“which can be incurred from leisure activities”) and conditional language (“This may result in emotional disconnection”). Meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, the comma in “Many people who work long hours, are seeking” incorrectly separates the subject from its verb, and “will allow them make” needs an infinitive marker (“to make”). There are also agreement and sentence-structure problems in the conclusion: “people … has its pros” and “the disadvantages outweighs the advantage.” Punctuation and spacing need attention in “sleep.This.” To improve, check subject–verb agreement, verb patterns, and sentence boundaries, while continuing to use varied sentence structures.

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