Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-21

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 lot of people have less time for leisure activities because they work long hours. Although this development have certain drawbacks, I strongly believe it has more advantages than disadvantages. In this essay, I will be discussing the advantages of working long hours and leaving less time for leisure activities.

One of the advantages of working long hours and leaving less time for leisure activities is increased wages. Increased wages improves the spending power of an individual thereby enabling them to afford more goods and services to meet their satisfaction. For exampe, with increased wages, people can afford to meet required bills such as rent while also being able to afford an expensive lifestyle for pleasure such as buying an expensive car.

In addition, working long hours with little time for leisure activities can create an opportunity for accelerated career advancement. With longer work hours, people can take on more projects and also complete these projects at a fast pace. This can lead to faster promotions as well as recognition for awards at work.

Although working long hours has more advanatges, however it can lead to low output at work. With less time for leisure activities, a person can break down due to stress because there is not enough time to rest and recover. This can develop mental and physical fatigue, therefore creating lower output at work. Moreover, working long hours with minimum time for leisure activities may reduce the time a person can spend with their family.

In concluson, I strongly agree that working long hours has more advantages than disadvantages because it can lead to increased wages, therefore increasing the spending power of people, while also creaing an opportunity for career advancement. However, it can also cause fatigue and less time with family.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction and conclusion: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. You address both sides and give relevant reasons, including higher wages, career progression, fatigue, and reduced family time. The wage example—being able to pay rent and afford a car—helps make one point concrete. However, some ideas are less fully developed than others: career advancement is asserted through taking on projects and gaining promotions, but there is no specific example or explanation of how this benefit compares with the costs. The disadvantages are also briefly covered. To strengthen the response, explain the consequences of each point in more depth and make the comparison between benefits and drawbacks more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion that restates your view. The progression from increased wages to career advancement is easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “In addition” and “Moreover” help signal relationships. At times, however, cohesion feels mechanical or repetitive. The phrase “working long hours and leaving less time for leisure activities” is repeated several times, and “Although … however” combines two contrasting signals unnecessarily. The conclusion also repeats the introduction’s position and main points rather than drawing the comparison together. Use a wider range of references and transitions, and connect each paragraph’s ideas more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “spending power,” “career advancement,” “recognition,” and “fatigue.” These choices communicate the main ideas clearly, and some are appropriately specific. However, there are several spelling errors, including “exampe,” “advanatges,” “concluson,” and “creaing,” which reduce accuracy. Some expressions are also imprecise or awkward: “meet their satisfaction” is not a natural collocation, while “afford an expensive lifestyle for pleasure” is unclear. Repeated use of “increased wages” and “working long hours” limits flexibility. Aim for more natural collocations and vary repeated phrases while keeping the meaning precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses such as “because they work long hours” and “Although working long hours has more advantages.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the errors do not prevent the reader from following your argument. Some grammatical inaccuracies persist, however. In “this development have certain drawbacks,” the singular subject requires “has”; similarly, “Increased wages improves” has a plural subject and should take “improve.” The phrase “Although … however” also creates a faulty contrast structure. There are some long sentences where clearer clause boundaries would improve control. Review subject–verb agreement and practise combining clauses accurately, especially when using contrast and cause-and-effect structures.

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