Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-22

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)

Some people believe a working week which is shorter is more beneficial rather than a longer weekend and some oppose this statement. I completely disagree with this point of view of a shorter weekend. And I have some reasons which I will discuss in the next paragraphs.

One of the main reasons in favour of a longer weekend is that the world of today is quite fast and the days are just going in no time. People have little time for their family and friends, which causes problems in their domestic life. If I look around myself, I have many family members who have problems with their wives because they are not giving much time due to their busy schedule and they just have one holiday in a week. This is why I prefer to have more holidays in a week. Relationships are one of the most important things in human life, and just due to work and professional life, they are in danger.

Another thing is that having more relaxing days helps workers maintain a good and healthy life. Due to overwork, pressure develops in the office, such as pressure to complete different tasks, and when someone does this for 6 days in a week, it can affect their mental state. Because work, work and work is not the greatest of things. This proverb is good in listening, but practically it is not beneficial for humans. As humans need rest, peace of mind, time for their families, and good health.

In short, my opinion is to give at least two vacation holidays in every sector, whether someone is a Prime Minister or a factory worker. Moreover, a full week's pay should not be reduced due to extra vacation because it works perfectly for workers' relationships and mental health.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position in favor of a shorter working week and a longer weekend. The ideas are relevant, focusing on family relationships and mental health. However, the development is somewhat limited. While the points are clear, they could be extended with more sophisticated reasoning or broader societal examples. The introduction is slightly confusing because it mentions 'a shorter working week' but then says 'I completely disagree with this point of view of a shorter weekend,' which contradicts the prompt's premise. Despite this, the overall stance remains consistent throughout the body paragraphs, and the conclusion effectively summarizes the main arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct idea. There is a clear progression of thought from the introduction to the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'One of the main reasons,' 'Another thing is,' and 'In short,' which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally repetitive (e.g., the frequent use of 'work' and 'time'). The paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall structure is coherent, making the writer's argument easy to follow despite some minor lapses in flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. The student relies on simple, repetitive phrasing such as 'work, work and work' and 'good and healthy life.' While the meaning is always clear, there is little attempt to use less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions. Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'vacation holidays' or 'this proverb is good in listening.' To improve, the student should focus on using more academic collocations and varied synonyms to express concepts like 'stress,' 'well-being,' and 'professional obligations.'

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'a working week which is shorter is more beneficial rather than a longer weekend' (awkward comparison) and 'they just have one holiday in a week' (informal phrasing). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some issues with sentence boundaries and clarity. While the errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. The student should work on sentence variety and ensuring that complex structures are used with greater accuracy.

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

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