Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-07-25

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 7.0)

In this fast-paced era, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is essential for both employees' well-being and long-term productivity. Some individuals advocate that the working hours should be shortened so that employees can enjoy longer weekends. I strongly agree with this statement. This essay will analyse the reasons behind my perspective along with the examples in the subsequent paragraphs.

First and foremost, shorter working hours will allow workers to achieve better work-life balance and mental health. If the working week will be shorter and weekends will be longer, employees will get more time to rest and recover. Additionally, this will assist them to pursue their hobbies and exercises which eventually improves their physical and mental health. Moreover, employees can spend quality time with their families and relatives, this will reduce their stress, burnouts and anxiety of the employees. Happy employees are more loyal and committed to their jobs

Secondly, longer weekend and shorter working hours provides higher productivity and job satisfaction. If the working hours are shorter, employees will be more focused and efficient. This will lead to fewer mistakes and enhance the work quality. Owing to this workers feel motivated and satisfied. Furthermore, shorter working hours benefit the companies and employers also because it will increase employees retention. Employees will feel motivated, they can work with a fresh mind which will improve the work productivity. For instance, many companies introduce only four days work plan, reported equal and even higher productivity.

In conclusion, a company should provide longer weekends to their employees as the shorter working hours reduce stress and improve work-life balance along with job satisfaction and higher productivity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response addresses all parts of the task and maintains a clear position throughout. The arguments regarding employee well-being and productivity are relevant and logically extended. However, the development is somewhat repetitive, particularly in the second paragraph where the benefits to the company are mentioned twice. While the ideas are supported, they could be further strengthened by providing more specific examples beyond the brief mention of a 'four days work plan'. Overall, the response is well-focused and meets the requirements of the prompt effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'First and foremost', 'Additionally', 'Moreover', and 'Secondly' are used to guide the reader. However, there are some minor issues with cohesion, such as the comma splice in '...spend quality time with their families and relatives, this will reduce their stress', which disrupts the flow. Despite this, the progression of ideas is clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate and appropriate for the task. The student uses topic-specific terms like 'work-life balance', 'productivity', 'employee retention', and 'job satisfaction'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'burnouts' (which is usually uncountable in this context) and 'four days work plan' (which should be 'four-day work week'). While the range is sufficient, it lacks the more sophisticated or idiomatic expressions that would elevate the score to a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'If the working week will be shorter and weekends will be longer' (incorrect use of future tense in a conditional clause) and 'longer weekend and shorter working hours provides' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are some run-on sentences and comma splices. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score in this criterion.

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