Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-11

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

The working week should be shorter and workers should have a longer weekend.

Do you agree or disagree?

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

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Although some people prefer having a shorter working week and more holidays at the end of the week, some prefer shorter weekend. I strongly agree that shorter working week is better because it gives more time to relax but the workload throughout the week increases.

Longer weekends help individuals to unwind and relax from their hectic routine. Resting and returning to work with a clear mind helps to focus better. For example, Harvard university students conducted a study on whether returning to work from a three day holiday increases productivity and helps to focus better on work. Almost 83 percent of workers were shown to have better performance and increased level of motivation at workplace. Similarly, enjoying, spending time with family helps to relax the mind and body. In addition to that, it reduces stress which helps to work better.

However, shorter working week means that the workload would be much higher as compared to those with shorter holidays. This is because the work of holidays would be assigned on working days. This causes stress and can cause workers to stay over time to complete the assigned work before deadlines. This situation can be prevented by equally dividing work within individuals and providing teamwork strategies so they can complete their work faster without mental and physical exhaustion.

In conclusion, shorter work week and more holidays helps to unwind from the monotonous routine and increases productivity and motivation within individuals, teamwork strategies should be made so workers dont have to stay ovetime to complete tasks before deadlines.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you agree with a shorter working week, and you address both the benefit of longer weekends and the concern that work may become more concentrated. The discussion of rest, focus and family time is relevant, and the example about a study gives the first main point some support. The response also recognises a practical drawback and proposes teamwork as a solution. However, the workload concern is less fully developed: explain more precisely why shorter hours would increase daily workload, and assess whether teamwork would reliably prevent overtime. The conclusion repeats the main claims rather than drawing the reasoning together. More balanced explanation and specific support would make the response more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph supporting longer weekends, a paragraph considering a drawback, and a conclusion. The contrast marker “However” helps signal the shift in argument, while “For example” introduces supporting evidence. This gives the reader a generally logical route through your ideas. Some connections are less smooth or precise, though. The opening contrasts people who prefer a longer weekend with those who prefer a shorter one, but the latter position is not clearly explained. In the final paragraph, the recommendation about teamwork is joined to the summary without a clear linking relationship. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s purpose and connect the conclusion’s recommendation explicitly to the workload concern.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary to discuss work, rest and productivity, including “hectic routine,” “mental and physical exhaustion,” and “deadlines.” These choices make the main ideas understandable, and you attempt some more specific language rather than relying entirely on basic terms. However, several expressions are imprecise or do not collocate naturally, such as “holidays at the end of the week,” “increased level of motivation,” and “stay overtime.” “Shorter holidays” also appears to mean fewer days off, although your argument concerns a shorter working week. Choose more exact phrases such as “longer weekends,” “higher motivation,” and “work overtime,” and check spelling, including “overtime” and “don’t.” This greater precision would strengthen the vocabulary control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a reason clause (“This is because…”) and a relative clause (“which helps to work better”). Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the argument remains understandable despite some grammatical slips. Errors include missing articles in “shorter working week” and “Harvard university,” subject–verb agreement in “shorter work week and more holidays helps,” and the awkward construction “helps to focus better” after “Resting and returning to work.” The final sentence also joins two independent ideas with a comma, and “dont” needs an apostrophe. Review articles, agreement with compound subjects, and sentence boundaries; then proofread punctuation. More consistently accurate complex sentences would improve control.

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