Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-16

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)

Today, the number of individuals are working longer hours and giving a little amount of time for their recreational activities. This situaton has merits because working longer hours helps people to earn more and develop a good connection with co-workers.

To commence, one of the reasons of spening too much time at the worplace by employees is to be financially stable. When people work more than regular hours, this enables them to earn overtime income. As a result, they not only make a huge amount of money, but also become able to afford everything in their lives. For example, in developing countires, although people are not so rich, they still buy luxury items for themselves and being able to afford medicine and education for their family due to working longer shifts.

Moving towards another advantage is to have strong connection and trust with colleagues. Whenever excessive time is spent with co-workers, this helps to build a proper understanding and trust among employees. This can lead to developing strong relationships and increasing the productivity of work. In addition, when people need help in an emergency, their close friends are always stand for them because of good connections. for example, in Canada, employees always attend their co-worker's family funcation, despite working longer hours or being tired which shows a true friendship and good connection in society.

In conclusion, spending more time at the workplace not only makes people become financially independent and afford anything in the world, but also gives them an opportunity to develop a true friendship with colleagues which helps employees either in good or bad situations.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you argue that longer working hours have more advantages, and you give two relevant reasons—higher income and stronger relationships with colleagues. The examples about affording medicine and education and attending colleagues’ family functions help illustrate these points. However, the response addresses the comparison only partially because it does not explain or acknowledge the disadvantages of having little leisure time, such as reduced rest or family time. Some claims are also broad or insufficiently explained, particularly that employees can “afford everything in their lives” and that longer hours increase productivity. To strengthen the response, briefly weigh the costs of limited leisure against the benefits, then develop each reason with more precise explanation and support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting separate advantages, and a conclusion that restates your position. The progression from financial benefits to workplace relationships is easy to follow, and signposts such as “To commence” and “In addition” help guide the reader. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some flexibility in linking ideas. However, several transitions feel formulaic, including “Moving towards another advantage,” and the conclusion repeats the introduction rather than drawing together the argument. Some links between claims are not fully explained—for example, how longer hours lead to greater productivity. Use more natural transitions and make the relationship between each supporting example and its main point explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including topic-related expressions such as “overtime income,” “financially stable,” “productivity,” and “strong relationships.” There are also attempts at less common phrasing, but some choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision: “a little amount of time,” “proper understanding,” and “stand for them” do not express the intended meanings naturally. Spelling errors such as “situaton,” “spening,” “countires,” and “funcation” are noticeable and can distract the reader. Aim for accurate collocations and check spelling carefully. A more precise vocabulary range would also help you discuss the trade-off between income and leisure, rather than relying on broad claims such as “afford anything in the world.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning with “Whenever” and “although,” and most of your meaning remains understandable. However, errors occur across sentence structures and verb forms. For example, “the number of individuals are working” has subject–verb disagreement, while “their close friends are always stand for them” uses an incorrect verb construction. The sentence beginning “For example, in developing…” also shifts awkwardly from “people” to “being able,” and “for example” after a full stop should begin with a capital letter. These errors sometimes make the reader pause, even though the overall message is clear. Review agreement, verb patterns, and sentence boundaries, and proofread complex sentences for consistent structure.

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

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