Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-03

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 6.0)

All over the world, people go to their work on working days of the week and then have a break on the weekend. Some people often say that the working week should be shorter than usual and additionally the weekend off should be prolonged. However it is my contention that neither the work days should be shorter nor the weekend should be longer.

Government of every country has legally decided working hours per week for an individual. Most of the corporate workers work for 40 to 45 hours per week as allowed legally. The working weeks in most countries is for five days. This limit is set as maximum and above this it is considered as working overtime which is penalized by the government. Moreover, the wages are set according to the number of hours worked per week. Hence, shorter the working week less wage is to be earned. So, this not only effects individuals with financial problems but also disrupts the financial stability.

Having a longer weekend would mean people are unemployed for most of the time. This could potentially effect the economy as many industries would not operate in their usual manner and the resources will not be used efficiently. Subsequently, the country could suffer economic loss. Additionally, when people are free for an extended period they tend to loose their productivity and get involved in unhealthy activities like excess social media use. Ultimately, loosing interest in working. Such an example was seen during Covid when loss of jobs and free time effected mental health but also destroyed productivity.

In my opinion, people should work according to the limit of hours set for them keeping in mind that a shorter working week would have a substantial effect on their earnings. Moreover, they are also likely to miss the potential opportunities of growth and development. As far as a longer weekend is concerned it is not suitable for their personal development and also for a country's progress.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt clearly, maintaining a consistent position throughout that the working week should not be shortened. The ideas are relevant, focusing on economic stability, individual wages, and productivity. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding the Covid-19 pandemic is a bit tangential and could have been more directly linked to the concept of a shorter working week versus general unemployment. While the position is clear, the supporting arguments could benefit from more nuanced exploration to reach a higher band. Overall, the task is addressed adequately with a logical flow of ideas.

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', 'Subsequently', and 'In my opinion' are used to link sentences and paragraphs effectively. However, there is some repetitive phrasing, and the transition between the economic argument and the personal development argument could be smoother. The use of referencing is generally clear, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task, contributing to a coherent overall structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is sufficient to convey the writer's meaning clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary such as 'financial stability', 'penalized', and 'productivity'. However, there are some noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'effects' instead of 'affects' and 'loose' instead of 'lose'. These errors do not impede communication but prevent the response from reaching a higher band. To improve, the writer should focus on mastering collocations and ensuring the correct form of words is used in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the writer attempts complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and article usage (e.g., 'Government of every country', 'shorter the working week less wage is to be earned'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some missing commas in complex sentences. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the text. Increasing the variety of complex structures and proofreading for minor grammatical slips would help elevate the score.

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