Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-30

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)

Few people work long shifts and give less time to themselves. I believe that this instance have more drawbacks than advantages.

To begin with, working in current situation is more suitable for workers as there are so many benefits given by employeers. Although, working for many hours and taking a very less time off can cause some serious issues like not having a good worklife balance. Additionally, it can also make you loose your focus on work which may lead to less productivity. For instance commuting to and from work takes a lot of time in addition to working long shifts and at the end of the day person just have no energy to do anything else. This might be one of the major drawbacks of giving less time to yourself as well as to family.

Additionally, working for more hours in a single day may make you very frustrating and can get irritated in small things.This can have negative impact on metal health as well as on physical health as well on the person. Having some leisure or fun activities can have a deep impact on our mind as it refreshes our whole mood. For example, An individual who works for 2 employers have very less time for himself and can hardly focus on his physical as well as mental health.

To conclude, having work life balance is very crucial for person's mental as well as physical health. Leisure activites can give person a deep relaxation which is important after a heavy work day.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you argue that long working hours have more disadvantages, and you address the effects on productivity, family life, and physical and mental health. The commuting example helps explain why workers may have little energy after work. However, the advantages side is only briefly introduced through the claim that employment offers benefits; you do not explain what those benefits are or weigh them against the drawbacks. Some points also need fuller development: for example, the example of someone working for two employers is mentioned but not connected in detail to the effects you describe. Develop and support each main idea more evenly to make the comparison more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the ideas generally relate to the central argument. Linking expressions such as “To begin with,” “Additionally,” and “To conclude” help signal stages in the response. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes loose: the first body paragraph moves from employer benefits to work-life balance and then commuting without clearly explaining the relationship between these points. “Additionally” is also repeated to introduce a second paragraph, and some references, such as “This,” are not fully precise. Organise each paragraph around one main reason and use clearer links between the claim, explanation and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “work-life balance,” “productivity,” “leisure,” and “mental health,” so the main ideas are understandable. There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “serious issues” and “major drawbacks.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “this instance,” “a very less time off,” and “deep relaxation.” Spelling and word-form errors such as “employeers,” “loose” for “lose,” and “activites” also reduce accuracy. Aim for natural, precise combinations of words and check spelling carefully; this will make your argument sound clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession beginning “Although” and a relative clause in “which may lead to less productivity.” Most of the meaning remains understandable, but some errors in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “this instance have” should use a singular verb, while “at the end of the day person” needs an article. The sentence beginning “Although” is not a complete sentence as written, and “may make you very frustrating” uses an incorrect grammatical form. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly around sentence boundaries. Review these patterns and proofread each sentence while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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