Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-09

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Nowadays many people complain that they have difficulties getting enough sleep. What problems can lack of sleep cause? What can be done about lack of sleep?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 6.5)

In recent times, many individuals have difficulties getting sufficient sleep. This can result in illnesses and reduced performance level.

Getting sufficient sleep is paramount as it allows individuals to perform their jobs effectively. Once there is sleep deprivation, it results in severe mental and physical breakdown. Hence, work remains stagnant, new ideas cannot be processed and the job suffers ultimately. For example, medical doctors who are on day and night duty, have no time to sleep or rest effectively. This results in difficulty in making diagnosis or clear clinical reasoning, prescribing the right medications and performing medical procedures. Patients who are at the receiving end suffers from the reduced performance level of the doctors. Furthermore, lack of sufficient sleep results in illnesses such as insomnia, depression, dementia and even delirium. Several research as shown that lack of sleep leaves the brain in a confused state where it is not functioning at an optimal level. This increases the chances of the brain to remember past events or process new memories.

Lack of sufficient sleep has detrimental effect and hence it needs a solution. Individuals should give priority to their sleep time. They should cease from bringing work home and they should keep their mobile phones away once its bed time. It is the duty of employers to make flexible schedules for workers so they have adequate sleep time. Furthermore, individuals needs to invest in exercises and healthy diets. Exercises and good diets gives the body the nutrients its needs to function adequately. For example, the sleep hormones and other hormones in the body, functions adequately with a good diet and solid exercise routine.

In conclusion, lack of sufficient sleep has adverse effects such as illnesses and reduced performance level. Due to these effects, it needs quick solutions such as good food and exercise, to curtail the effect

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the problems caused by sleep deprivation and potential solutions. The ideas are relevant, such as the impact on professional performance and health, and the suggestions for employers and individuals are practical. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The explanation of how sleep deprivation affects memory is slightly confusing, as the text states it 'increases the chances of the brain to remember past events,' which contradicts the intended point about cognitive impairment. While the position is clear, further elaboration on the long-term societal impacts or more nuanced solutions would have strengthened the response to a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the problems from the solutions. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore,' 'Hence,' and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, there is some mechanical repetition of phrases like 'lack of sufficient sleep' and 'reduced performance level,' which makes the flow feel slightly rigid. Additionally, some transitions between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother to improve the overall progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some good topic-specific terms like 'insomnia,' 'dementia,' 'delirium,' and 'clinical reasoning.' However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and minor collocation errors, such as 'cease from bringing work home' (should be 'refrain from') and 'Several research as shown' (should be 'Several studies have shown'). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but the lack of more sophisticated or varied vocabulary prevents a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Patients... suffers,' 'individuals needs,' 'diets gives,' 'hormones... functions') and minor errors in article usage or prepositional phrases. These errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching the 7.0 band, which requires more frequent error-free sentences and better control over complex structures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.