Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-26

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)

It is widely observed that several individuals work for extended hours and do not able to provide sufficient time for other personal ctivities. Although this trend may have a few positive values, I believe that this has more detrimental impacts on them.

One of the main benefits of working longer is that it can reward individuals financially. Since they work for long hours for overtime, they may earn more money, allowing them to follow lavish lifestyle. This is largely because working more hours may assist earn more than their expectations and basic necessities, which may help them to purchase what they want. At the same time, this may also open promotion opportunities. For example, managements may see them worth considering for the higher positions in the company owning to their dedication for completing tasks by working more than their scheduled hours.

Becoming more vulnerable to chronic diseases is the prime disadvantage of this trend. This is because when they do not leave enough time for leisure activities such as exercising or other physical activities, they may face the issue of obesity. Additionally, this trend may also reduce the sense of satisfaction among people, as they may not save suitable time to engage in their favorite activities. For example, a person who plays guitar for his own satisfaction may not able to play it due to lack of time. This may not only hinder their productivity but also make dissatisfied with their job if they continue working for extended hours.

In conclusion, even though working for long hours may honour individuals with higher earnings and tendency to buy expensive products, this may lead to serious long term health impacts. Therefore, they should work for fix hours and should manage work-life by leaving suitable time for their habits because working long hours has more disadvatanges than advantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear throughout: you acknowledge financial and career benefits but argue that the health and personal costs are greater. Both sides are relevantly addressed, and the examples—overtime income, promotion prospects, obesity, and losing time to play guitar—help explain your points. This meets the task well. Some support, however, remains broad: the promotion example assumes employers will reward longer hours, and the health discussion could explain more specifically how limited leisure affects wellbeing beyond exercise. The conclusion restates your view and offers a recommendation, though the recommendation to work fixed hours is not developed. More precise explanation of these points would make the argument more fully extended.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear four-part structure, with an introduction, a paragraph for advantages, a paragraph for disadvantages, and a conclusion. The progression from financial benefits to health and satisfaction costs is easy to follow, and signposts such as “At the same time,” “Additionally,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. The examples are generally placed beside the ideas they support. Some linking is a little mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “This may” and “This is because,” and the reference in “this trend” can occasionally feel broad. Varying transitions and making links between cause and consequence more explicit would create smoother cohesion while preserving the clear organisation.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “extended hours,” “chronic diseases,” “promotion opportunities,” and “sense of satisfaction.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and attempts at more formal language are evident. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “positive values,” “follow lavish lifestyle,” “managements may see them worth considering,” and “honour individuals with higher earnings.” There are also spelling errors, including “ctivities” and “disadvatanges.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Focus on common, accurate collocations and check spelling; this will make your vocabulary more effective than simply choosing more elaborate words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses beginning “Since,” “Although,” and “when,” as well as a relative clause in “a person who plays guitar.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the range is suitable for expressing causes, contrasts, and examples. Some grammatical errors persist, however: “do not able to provide” needs an auxiliary construction, “may assist earn” needs a different verb pattern, and “may not able to play” repeats the missing-auxiliary problem. There are also issues with articles and sentence construction, as in “follow lavish lifestyle” and “make dissatisfied with their job.” Review verb patterns after modal verbs and ensure each clause has a complete, correctly formed verb phrase.

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