Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-13

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)

In recent years, it is widely believed that the number of working days in a week should be limited and that weekends must be longer for workers. I disagree with those who hold this view. For workers, a shorter week provides many advantages such as relaxation time and time for their families, but longer weekends are important for many types of work that cannot be completed in fewer days.

On the one hand, fewer working days provide many significant advantages for employees. They get more time to relax and spend time with their families. For example, if government employees get three days off, they can arrange a short trip for relaxation and enjoyment. Moreover, they will have more time to complete their personal daily tasks. For instance, if an employee has more weekends, they can perform construction work at home. This shows that longer weekends have many advantages for employees.

On the other hand, the view related to longer working weeks raises many concerns about employees' interest in their jobs. With shorter working hours, they will lose motivation for their jobs and, over time, will try to pass time instead of working. For example, if the working days are limited to two by the government, most employees will not complete their jobs and will get distracted from their work track. This results in half-finished work for the public.

In conclusion, limited working days provide many advantages for workers but have many concerns related to the public. In my opinion, I disagree with that; instead of short working hours, there should be a hybrid mechanism.

For example, one week of vacation after one month of working days would be a better choice.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing whether the working week should be shortened and weekends lengthened, stating a clear position of disagreement in the introduction. The candidate puts forward relevant ideas, such as the benefits of relaxation and family time alongside potential drawbacks like reduced motivation and half-finished work. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or contain logical inconsistencies, such as the extreme example of the government limiting working days to two, or the sudden pivot in the conclusion suggesting a 'hybrid mechanism' like one month of work followed by a week of vacation, which departs slightly from the core concept of a shorter weekly schedule. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs discussing opposing sides, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points of view. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'For example' and 'For instance' within short spans, and the logical progression becomes somewhat erratic toward the end when introducing the unusual hybrid vacation proposal in the final paragraphs. This positions the response firmly at Band 6.0 for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task. There are attempts to use less common items and phrasings, such as 'significant advantages', 'distracted from their work track', and 'half-finished work'. However, there are notable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'perform construction work at home' instead of doing home improvements, and 'more weekends' when referring to extra days off. Spelling and word formation are generally accurate, but the lexical limitations and occasional unnatural phrasing prevent the score from reaching a higher band, placing it safely at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures like 'if government employees get three days off, they can arrange a short trip'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout the text, such as 'In recent years, it is widely believed that...' (where present trends clash slightly with general beliefs) and 'the view related to longer working weeks raises many concerns' (which is semantically confusing since the topic is shorter weeks). Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, and the overall grammar supports a Band 6.0.

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

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