Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-06

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)

The number of working days should be reduced, while allowing employees to have longer days off. I strongly agree with this point of view because shorter working days improve workers' mental health and increase their productivity.

Firstly, a shorter working week can significantly improve employees' mental and physical well-being. Working for long hours makes employees stressed and anxious. To overcome this phenomenon, reduce the amount of working days. Furthermore, individuals have enough time to spend with families and also take part in desired hobbies, which will help them escape from stress and workload. For instance, in Vietnam, parents have enough time to look after their children. They attend school meetings and play a significant role in their lives due to the plenty of time they spend at home rather than going to the office every day.

Secondly, concise working hours increase productivity. Employees have limited work and remaining time to spend on other activities, which enhances their thinking capacity. However, they come back to work full of energy and motivated. For example, in Japan, some businessmen observe that employees who come back after a vacation work faster and more efficiently compared to others. They have strong critical thinking power and complete their tasks with more accuracy and incredible speed. Additionally, the companies generate higher revenue and increase their growth, which can benefit both the workers and owners.

In conclusion, I strongly agree that the working week should be shorter and employees should have a long weekend. This is because it can improve workers' mental health and also increase productivity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt clearly and maintains a consistent position throughout. The arguments regarding mental health and productivity are relevant and supported by examples from Vietnam and Japan. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited; for instance, the explanation of how shorter hours lead to 'thinking capacity' is a bit vague. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the 'how' and 'why' of your arguments with more nuanced analysis. The conclusion effectively restates the position, but the overall development remains at a standard level rather than a fully extended one.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', 'However', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. While the progression is clear, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the relationship between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the discussion of mental health and the example of parents in Vietnam is functional but could be more sophisticated. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'well-being', 'productivity', 'critical thinking', and 'revenue'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, though some collocations are slightly unnatural, such as 'observe that employees... work faster' or 'thinking capacity'. The word choice is generally accurate and sufficient to convey your meaning without difficulty. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing like 'come back to work' or 'enough time'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are error-free, there are occasional grammatical slips, such as 'reduce the amount of working days' (should be 'number of') and 'some businessmen observe that employees who come back after a vacation work faster' (which is slightly awkward). Punctuation is generally correct, and the errors present do not impede communication. To achieve a higher score, aim for a greater variety of complex structures, such as conditional sentences or passive voice constructions, to demonstrate more flexibility.

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

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