Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-05

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)

It is essential for organizations to help their employees in order to balance their professional and personal lives. Many people believe that working week should be shorter and workers should have a longer weekend, while other believes in contrast. I strongly agree, working week should be shorter, but more productive for organization.

Firstly, it is important for employers to focus on their goals and agendas, and then provide their employees different task based on their job descriptions. Every employee should be fully aware of the needs of their particular job, and try to fulfill their targets. For example, there are two employees in a department, one employee completed his task efficiently within 8 hours shift, while other required more than 10 hours in order to complete same task. This shows, that efficient use of time is important.

Secondly, when organizations provide more time to employees for refreshment and families, they are more productive and energetic. This balance will help them to work more confidently and stress free. This strategy may prevent employees from burnout, which is quite common in today's world. For instance, ahmad had a long weekend last month, he enjoyed with his family and then came back to office with relaxed mind. He may perform better as compare to other employee who was his reliever and may be already burned out.

In conclusion, i recommend organizations to improve their policies and help their employees to work efficiently and try to conduct some essential training for balancing their personal and professional lives and provide them shorter working week with longer weekend.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of a shorter working week. The ideas are relevant, focusing on productivity and employee well-being. However, the development is somewhat limited. The example of the two employees is a good start but lacks depth, and the personal example of 'Ahmad' is a bit anecdotal and simplistic. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the broader societal or economic implications of a shorter working week rather than focusing solely on individual productivity. The position is consistent, but the supporting arguments could be more thoroughly explored to fully satisfy the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' to signal the structure. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the transition between the general argument and the specific example feels abrupt. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the relationship between your ideas is more explicitly stated to create a smoother progression of thought.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'burnout', 'professional and personal lives', and 'efficiently'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'other believes in contrast' and 'as compare to'. To achieve a higher score, you should aim to incorporate more precise collocations and less common lexical items. Avoid repetitive phrasing and focus on using vocabulary that demonstrates a more sophisticated grasp of the topic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles (e.g., 'for organization', 'to office') and subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'other believes', 'one employee completed... while other required'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some run-on sentences and missing commas. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and try to vary your sentence structures further by using more complex subordinating clauses. The errors 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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