Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-15

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)

Our work is a part of our life but not our entire life. People have their own lives outside the four walls of their workplace, though they barely get any time to spend time with their kith and kins. I wholeheartedly agree that the number of working days should be lowered and employees should be given a longer weekend, and in this essay, we shall dicuss the need for the same.

The working days should be decreased and workers should have a longer weekend. Working for such long hours every day takes a toll on the mental health of employees and leaves them with little time to rejuvenate and drains out their creativity. If the employees are not happy with their work hours, then they would obviously not be able to lead a healthy life. A study shows that around 17% of workers at multinational companies suffer from depression while 47% are dealing with stress and anxiety.

Moreover, if workers do not get enough free time to relax and spend with their families, then their performance at work would also be impacted greatly. A tired and worn out employee looses the zeal to work and become disinterested in their job. As a result, it affects the profits of the company. Although a longer weekend directly translates to lesser working hours, it would increase the efficiency of the work. For instance, it is interesting to note that start-ups with a 4 day work show better progress than multinational companies with longer working days.

For example, a former employee of Google shared his journey on Instagram where he delved deeper into how a 6 day work week at Google affected his mental health and personal life. This led to him taking the decision to leave such a prestigious job and work at a business that offered a longer weekend.

To recapitulate, longer weekends are crucial for happy and healthy employees. This plays a vital role in creating a work-life balance that benefits their employers as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response clearly addresses the prompt and maintains a consistent position throughout. The arguments regarding mental health and work efficiency are relevant and supported by examples, such as the mention of multinational company statistics and the anecdotal evidence of a former Google employee. While the ideas are well-developed, the essay could be improved by providing a more nuanced discussion of the potential drawbacks of a shorter working week, which would demonstrate a more balanced approach. However, the task is fully addressed, and the position is clear and well-supported.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'As a result', and 'To recapitulate' are used effectively to link sentences and paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points. The flow of the argument is smooth, and the referencing is generally clear, though some transitions could be slightly more sophisticated to reach a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is sufficient for the task and allows for clear communication. There is an attempt to use less common items such as 'rejuvenate', 'zeal', and 'delved deeper'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'looses' (should be 'loses') and the slightly informal phrase 'kith and kins'. While the range is adequate, it lacks the consistent precision and sophisticated collocation required for a higher band score. The vocabulary is generally appropriate for an academic context but could be more varied.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is generally good control over grammar, and most sentences are clear. However, there are occasional errors, such as 'dicuss' (spelling), 'looses' (spelling/usage), and 'become disinterested' (should be 'becomes' to agree with 'employee'). Punctuation is generally accurate, but the sentence structure could be more varied to demonstrate greater flexibility. The errors present do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score.

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

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