Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

It is often believed that working days should be less and workers should have more off days. However, I completely disagree with this view because it will affect the economy of a country as well as the lives of individuals and put an extra burden on workers when they have to complete their required tasks in short time.

One of the major reasons is that shortening the working days can have negative effects on the economy of a state. Exporting products to various countries is a main source of earning for some countries. When working days become shorter, the amount of work will also reduce which can decrease the production of several goods in a country, affecting the economic conditions. Moreover, the nation may have to face shortage of food and other basic facilities because their earnings will also decrease when they have to work for the fewer number of days. It may also lead to the rise in the number of deaths due to the delay in healthcare facilities. For example, when doctors and other staff in hospital will not be available in case of emergencies to deal with that, it might cause deaths of patients in case of delayed treatments.

A further reason for my disagreement is that it will increase the workload on employees in several work places. Some industries or offices have the already decided weekly schedule of tasks for their workers, which they have to achieve in a week. Therefor, a longer weekend might be a wrong choice for them, as it can cause them to do an extra efforts to complete their required tasks in a week. It might also lead them to several mental problems, such as depression, anxiety and stress. For example, when working staff tend to work extra hours to cope with a demanding workload, this can prove harmful to their health. That is why, the working week should remain unchanged.

In conclusion, an extended weekend might not be beneficial for the employed population or the country , as it could adversely affect worker's health and the national economy, respectively.

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 economic impact and employee workload are relevant and logically extended. However, the development is slightly uneven; the claim that a shorter work week would lead to a rise in deaths due to delayed healthcare is a significant over-generalisation and lacks nuance. While the ideas are supported with examples, the link between a shorter work week and immediate mortality is somewhat tenuous. To reach a higher band, ensure that arguments are grounded in more realistic, balanced reasoning rather than extreme scenarios, which can make the position feel less persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central topic sentence, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'A further reason', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to link ideas. However, there are minor issues with mechanical cohesion, such as the slightly awkward phrasing in 'the fewer number of days' and the missing space before the comma in the conclusion. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and the flow of information is consistent, meeting the requirements for a Band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally sufficient to convey the intended meaning, and the student makes attempts to use topic-specific terminology like 'economic conditions', 'demanding workload', and 'adversely affect'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are occasional inaccuracies in collocation, such as 'do an extra efforts' (should be 'make an extra effort') and 'working days should be less' (should be 'fewer'). While the vocabulary is adequate for the task, it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Expanding the range of synonyms and focusing on natural collocations would improve the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is a good attempt at using conditional clauses and relative clauses, which shows a reasonable range. However, there are persistent grammatical errors, such as 'the fewer number of days' (should be 'fewer days'), 'in case of emergencies to deal with that' (redundant), and 'Therefor' (spelling error). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are minor errors with spacing and article usage. The errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage would be beneficial.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.