Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-21

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)

I agree with the statement that working week should be shorter and workers should have a longer weekend. The usual number of hours that the workers have is 40 hours a week which means 8 hours a day for a five-day work week. In my opinion, compressing working hours into 7 hours a day and 4 days work week can make more competent employees.

This kind of shorter work setup creates positive impact to the workers as it creates work-life balance. Workers will feel more motivated to work and more conscious to deadlines when their working hours is compressed. Shorter working hours means no unneccessary hours for unproductive things because let us be honest here, not the entire working hours were used for work; sometimes we used to have chitchats with our workmates, some were napping and scrolling in our mobile phones. Moreover, workers will enjoy longer weekend which they can use for other recreational activities or bonding with their families and friends. This will avoid workers to have depression, health problems, family problems and even interpersonal problems. Through this, it will lessen work exhaustion, stress and anxiety. Given the positive impacts of compressed work to its workers, it also has positive effect for employers. Offices, institutions and establishments will save electricity consumption. Furthermore, expenses to work transportation will also be lessened. Lastly, there might be an increased in work performance when work and life balance is considered.

To conclude, shorter working hours offers a lot of positive effects to both employers and employees. I strongly believe that when this is implemented, a lot of workers can develop a positive attitude towards work.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The candidate clearly addresses all parts of the task by stating a strong position right from the introduction: I agree with the statement that working week should be shorter... The main body paragraphs present well-developed ideas, extending the argument to cover benefits for both employees (work-life balance, reduced stress, motivation) and employers (reduced utility consumption, lower transportation expenses, increased performance). The position remains clear throughout, and the ideas are appropriately supported with logical reasoning, meeting the Band 7 level descriptors successfully.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The text presents a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The response starts with a clear introduction, moves into well-structured body paragraphs addressing distinct aspects of the prompt, and concludes neatly. Cohesive devices are used effectively to guide the reader, such as 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'Lastly'. However, paragraphing is somewhat condensed, as the entire argument regarding both employee and employer benefits is bundled into a single massive paragraph. Breaking this into two distinct paragraphs would elevate the structural clarity. Overall, cohesion is well managed, fitting the Band 6.5 to 7 range securely.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The candidate demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task with some flexibility and precision, employing appropriate terms such as 'competent employees', 'work-life balance', 'recreational activities', and 'interpersonal problems'. Less common lexical items are attempted with decent awareness of collocation. However, there are a few noticeable inaccuracies and awkward phrasings, such as 'creates positive impact to the workers' (should be 'on') and 'an increased in work performance' (should be 'an increase'). Spelling is generally good, with a minor typo in 'unneccessary'. This performance aligns well with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating the ability to construct multi-clause sentences effectively, as seen in 'Offices, institutions and establishments will save electricity consumption.' However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing choices that disrupt fluency. For instance, the opening sentence lacks an article ('the working week'), and there are subject-verb agreement or preposition slips like 'number of hours that the workers have is 40 hours', 'positive impact to the workers', and 'avoid workers to have depression'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, their frequency prevents the score from reaching Band 7.

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

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