Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-12
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)
The duration of working days in a week has become a hotly debated issue in society. Some individuals argued that working week should shorter due to the fact the workers should have a longer weekend. From my perspective the working days in a week should be minimum and workers have more free days for rest and for any other task about which they had thought.
On one hand, the working days in a week should be less due to the fact that it may have lot of benefits. This may reduce the stress of work from the workers and it will feel them easy at the weekend. Moreover, countries like Pakistan workers have to work hard from morning to evening for six days in a week and one holiday is given to them. But they need a rule that they will have a fix salary of a week that must should be a good amount for hard workers. Resultantly their minimum working days and more holidays will not effect their salary and holidays will not a stress day for them.
On the other hand, the working days in a week is very crucial for completion of a task, suppose that if the working days is reduced any task or project that is started must be delayed. It has a significant impact on an agreement completion time. For instance, the big drawback for workers is a burden of work, it will cause a huge burden for workers by reducing working days to complete their agreement within a due time. Public will also face difficulty by reducing working period in a week due to delay of their works.
In conclusion, the less working days may leads to hurdle in a way of prosperity for developing countries like Pakistan but for developed countries like USA these day will be enough.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing both sides of the issue (advantages and disadvantages of shorter working weeks) and presents a clear, albeit somewhat muddled, position. The writer covers all parts of the task, noting impacts on stress, productivity, and economic context. However, ideas are somewhat under-developed and lack extension. For instance, the discussion regarding Pakistan and the USA is introduced rapidly in the conclusion rather than being integrated into well-supported body paragraphs. The argument occasionally slips into tangential details, such as fixed salaries, which reduces the overall persuasiveness and thoroughness of the response. Consequently, this performance aligns best with the Band 6 descriptors, where all parts of the task are addressed, but some ideas remain under-developed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay displays a generally coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate contrasting viewpoints, with clear signposting phrases like 'On one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion.' However, cohesion is frequently faulty and mechanical. Referencing and logical progression within sentences can be confusing, such as the abrupt transition in the second body paragraph involving Pakistan's working conditions and fixed salaries. Furthermore, pronoun referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'these day will be enough' referring back to countries or working days). The overall flow is disrupted by clunky transitions, placing the response firmly at Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating basic ideas related to work, stress, and economic development. There are frequent attempts to use less common items and topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'prosperity,' 'crucial,' and 'significant impact.' However, these attempts are often marred by noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word formation, such as 'working week should shorter' instead of 'shorter,' 'fix salary' instead of 'fixed salary,' and 'effect' instead of 'affect.' While communication is not severely impeded, these recurring lexical errors restrict the score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing subordinate clauses introduced by 'due to the fact that,' 'suppose that if,' and 'although' variants. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors occurring across most complex structures. Examples include missing modal verbs ('working week should shorter'), incorrect auxiliary usage ('it will feel them easy'), tense inconsistencies, and preposition errors ('hurdle in a way of prosperity'). Simple sentences are generally more accurate, but the high frequency of errors in complex structures means that communication is occasionally placed under strain, matching the criteria for a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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