Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-17

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 6.5)

It is often suggested that the conventional five-day working week should be reduced and workers should be given a longer weekend to enjoy. I strongly agree with this view, as a shorter working week could improve employees' wellbeing while potentially making business more productive.

The primary benefit is work-life balance. Long working-hours results in both mental and physical exhaustion. Furthermore, employees spend more time in the company rather than family. An additional day for rest can ultimately provide far more positive outcomes. When employees are given more time, stress and burnout spontaneously reduces so their mental health is not negatively affected. Moreover, some people can spend their free time with family, any activity or doing any hobby, through which their quality of life becomes much better and is reflected in their professional life.

From the perspective of an employer, this suggestion is equally profitable. In most of the cases, productivity does not simply increase when workers spend more time on desks working, but from achieving suitable targets. A fatigue worker is less like to be actively completing his tasks more efficiently. While, a well rested employ manages tasks with a better mindset and more efficiency. Offering better work-life balance can also benefit companies to retain talented staff, reducing extra costs in new recruitments and training. Although some companies may find it difficult to reduce the working days, it may be achieved by better time and task management.

To conclude, I believe that reducing working hours of employees is beneficial overall. By intelligently scheduling working hours, enhancing work-life balance, working week can be made shorter.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response clearly addresses the prompt, taking a strong and consistent position in agreement with a shorter working week. All parts of the task are covered well. The main body paragraphs present logical arguments concerning both employee wellbeing and employer profitability, such as reducing mental exhaustion and improving staff retention. Ideas are generally well developed and supported with explanations, satisfying the requirements for Band 7. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalise in places without providing concrete real-world examples, keeping the response just below Band 8.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, beginning with a clear introduction, moving through well-structured body paragraphs addressing different perspectives, and concluding appropriately. Cohesive devices are used adequately to connect ideas, such as 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', and 'Although'. However, some of the transitional links and referencing could be smoother or more flexible (for instance, the transition 'While, a well rested employ...' is slightly abrupt), which places the response securely at Band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'wellbeing', 'exhaustion', and 'retention'. However, there are some noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocations, such as 'Long working-hours results' (should be plural 'result'), 'spend more time in the company rather than family' (awkward prepositional phrase), and 'A fatigue worker' (should be the adjective 'fatigued'). These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the score from reaching Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms effectively, demonstrating control over conditional and concessive structures like 'When employees are given more time...' and 'Although some companies may find it difficult...'. There are, however, several grammatical errors present, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Long working-hours results'), incorrect article usage, and minor word form mistakes ('less like' instead of 'less likely'). While these errors occur regularly, they do not impede communication, making a Band 6.0 score appropriate.

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

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