Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-04
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)
It is often argued that the working week should be shorter and employees should have a longer weekend. I agree with this statement because a shorter working week can help people achieve a better work-life balance and increase their productivity.
To begin with, there is an array of advantages of longer weekends. The most important one to be considered that better life balance. As a consequence, it impacts individulas in a positive way by having more time for family and friends. They can help them relax and reduce stress caused by long working hours. For example, employees who have an extra day off may have more time to exercise, travel or take care of their children. Additionally, they can relax their mind and body. As a result, when they go back to the job their physical and mental health is perfect. Therefore, a shorter working week can improve people's quality of life.
Another crucial benefit is higher productivity. Eventually, it can have a effect on workers due to employees may work more efficiently. For instance, a worker who rested well on the weekend and when they come back to their job their physical and mental health are well, they do less mistakes. As a result, employees do not suffer a significant reduction in salary. Therefore, shorter working hours can benefit both employees and their performance.
In conclusion, I agree that the working week should be shorter and the weekend should be longer. This can give people a better work-life balance and help them become more productive at work.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The arguments regarding work-life balance and productivity are relevant and logically extended. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive, particularly in the second body paragraph where the point about physical and mental health is restated. To reach a higher band, you should aim to provide more distinct supporting evidence or nuanced analysis rather than repeating the same core idea. Overall, the response is well-focused on the task requirements.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'As a consequence', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, the progression within the second body paragraph is slightly mechanical, and some transitions feel a bit repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. The flow is generally smooth, though the overuse of simple sentence structures occasionally makes the logical links feel slightly disjointed.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing for clear communication of ideas. You use some topic-specific terms like 'work-life balance' and 'productivity'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'a effect' (should be 'an effect') and 'do less mistakes' (should be 'make fewer mistakes'). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the sophistication or variety required for a higher band. Focusing on more precise collocations and avoiding basic errors will improve this score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'The most important one to be considered that better life balance' (missing verb) and 'due to employees may work' (incorrect structure). Additionally, there are minor errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Increasing the variety of complex structures and proofreading for basic syntax errors would be beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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