Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-09
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)
Working week and working time are the major debated argument amongst employees, where some argue that the working week should be shorter and the workers should have a longer weekend. While this essay discusses such view points, i believe that the working week should be little shorter.
People working in companies whether be it private or government tend to work for 5-6 working days. They have to follow a 9 hour mandatory shift or sometimes overtime depending on the workload. Moreover, they have to abide by the regular work from office compliance rule. Immense workload with due deadline induces burnout, fatigue and exhaustion amongst people. To overcome stress and gain contentment in life people seem to desire a shorter working week and have a longer weekend.
Significant reasons could be to spend more time with family, complete the pending tasks that an individual had been procrastinating for a long time, completing administrative and household works. Additionally, going for a short trip, pursuing hobbies, spending time in nature or hanging out with friends and relatives could really help with the well-being of a person. In this contemporary world, an individual seeks for serenity and peace for the amount of money they earn.
In my view, I believe shorter working week could really help with a person's well being. By indulging in hobbies, entertainment could make them content in life. Additionally, they can utilize that time in upskilling and create better future opportunities for them in long run.
In conclusion, workload will always be there, so to make people focus more and be productive, the number of working days are to be considered.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of a shorter working week. While the main ideas—such as family time, mental health, and upskilling—are relevant, they are somewhat repetitive and lack deep development. For instance, the argument about 'administrative and household works' is listed but not fully explained in the context of how a shorter week specifically facilitates this. The conclusion is a bit weak, as it merely restates that workload exists rather than summarizing the main arguments effectively. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific examples or evidence to support your claims.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover', 'Additionally', and 'In conclusion' to link your thoughts. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the second and third paragraphs is abrupt. The use of referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure would benefit from more sophisticated linking words to connect the arguments more naturally rather than relying on simple list-like transitions.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'mandatory shift', 'burnout', 'exhaustion', and 'serenity'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'major debated argument' (should be 'subject of debate') and 'indulging in hobbies, entertainment could make them content' (grammatically awkward). You attempt to use less common vocabulary, which is good, but the precision is not always consistent. Focusing on more natural collocations will help improve your score in this area.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'i believe' (needs capitalization), 'whether be it' (awkward phrasing), and 'seeks for serenity' (the verb 'seek' does not take 'for'). There are also issues with article usage and subject-verb agreement, such as 'the number of working days are to be considered'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. You should aim for more error-free complex sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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