Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-03

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 5.5)

In contemporary society, the reduced working week and extended weekend for employees have become a widely discussed issue due to its growing influence on different areas of life and society. From my perspective, I strongly agree that there must be more weekends and less working days in a week. This essay will explain why this position is justified with some reasons and multiple examples.

The main reason supporting my view is that having more weekends and less working days in a week plays a vital role for every individual, as it contributes to spend more time with family. In other words, there will be more time available for employees to engage in various type of activities on weekend with their household and companions. For instance, engaging in family excursions, attending gym sessions, and playing physical sports. Furthermore, workers who are exhausted with their employment and lifestyle feel more energetic and motivated by participating in such outdoor activities. Consequently, employers should encourage more weekdays and shorter working week at their businesses or companies for workers.

Another strong reason uplifting my view is that longer working week or days can induce mental and physical complications in worker's lives. For example, anxiety, stress, and headache, demonstrating how such health challenges bring detrimental effects on individuals. Consequently, limiting companies in attaining their future targets and exacerbating the lifestyle of employees by demanding overtime from them. Therefore, authorities must implement laws to make working week more shorter and facilitate individuals with longer weekend.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that longer weekend brings several significant benefits. While some challenges exist, disregarding the positive impacts of long weekends would confine progress and development amid individuals. However, with proper implementations and control, these negative problems can be significantly reduced.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt clearly and maintains a consistent position throughout. The arguments regarding family time and health benefits are relevant and logically developed. However, the development is somewhat repetitive, and the essay could benefit from more specific, real-world examples rather than general statements like 'engaging in family excursions'. The conclusion is a bit vague, mentioning 'some challenges' without specifying what they are, which limits the depth of the discussion. To reach a higher band, ensure that each supporting point is fully explored with concrete evidence or nuanced analysis rather than relying on general assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'Consequently', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there is occasional awkwardness in phrasing, such as 'Another strong reason uplifting my view'. The referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be smoother to achieve a more natural, sophisticated progression of ideas. Overall, the structure is sound and supports the reader's understanding of the writer's position.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common collocations, such as 'detrimental effects' and 'contemporary society'. However, there are also instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'uplifting my view' (instead of 'supporting') and 'make working week more shorter' (which is grammatically incorrect and redundant). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but more precise and varied vocabulary would be needed to reach a higher band. The errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the overall sophistication of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

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. For example, 'less working days' should be 'fewer working days', and 'make working week more shorter' contains a double comparative error. Additionally, there are minor issues with article usage and pluralization, such as 'amid individuals' instead of 'among individuals'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the argument, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. More attention to subject-verb agreement and comparative structures is recommended.

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

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