Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-22

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)

In recent years, it has become a most trending topic among employees. I firmly agree with the viewpoint that the working week should be shorter and should have a longer weekend for employees. This essay will not only elaborate on my viewpoint but also provide related examples to support it.

To begin with, one of the most significant reasons is that nowadays working culture has become more stressful. This can be attributed to the fact that many employees are having mental issues due to a heavy workload, which can lead to many serious injuries. For instance, in many developing countries, workers in the IT sector are facing a terrible experience due to overwork as they have to complete tasks within a shorter time duration. Consequently, many developers or workers are doing their work after office hours to meet deadlines. Therefore, shorter working days in a week give employees time to relax, which can reduce their stress.

Moreover, another essential factor is a decline in the productivity of employees. Furthermore, many employees are not able to adapt to a hectic schedule of work and also they are not able to do work to their full potential. For instance, in many developing countries, people working in government sectors produce less effective results, which is why many government initiatives have failed. Thus, a proper working schedule will uplift the productivity of many working sectors.

In conclusion, some may argue that a shorter working week makes companies hire more people, rather than getting the work done with a minimum number of workers. I believe that a shorter working week is not only good for employees' health but also increases their productivity. Governments should take serious action to maintain work-life balance in all organisations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt directly, taking a clear stance that the working week should be shorter and weekends longer. The position is maintained throughout the essay. The student develops main ideas related to workplace stress, productivity drops, and employee health. However, the development tends to be somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding the references to developing countries and the IT and government sectors, which limits the depth of elaboration. While all parts of the prompt are addressed, the arguments would benefit from more varied and fully expanded supporting points to reach higher bands. Nevertheless, the response fulfills the basic requirements of task response effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear overall progression with logical paragraphing, where each paragraph serves a distinct purpose in introducing, developing, or concluding the argument. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the text. However, there are instances of slightly mechanical or repetitive cohesive usage, such as starting consecutive developmental points with similar transitional phrases. Referencing is generally clear, but some internal cohesion within paragraphs could be smoother to achieve a higher level of flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'work-life balance', 'productivity', 'stressful', and 'initiatives'. There are also attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'attributed to' and 'adapt to a hectic schedule'. However, minor inaccuracies in collocation and word choice appear, such as 'many employees are having mental issues' instead of 'experiencing mental health issues', and 'serious injuries' when referring to mental strain. The lexical range is sufficient for communication, but vocabulary control prevents it from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writing contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, demonstrating a reasonable command of grammar. Examples such as 'This can be attributed to the fact that many employees are having mental issues...' show an ability to construct multi-clause sentences. There are occasional errors, such as redundancy in 'shorter time duration' (duration implies time) and slightly awkward phrasing like 'doing their work after office hours'. Punctuation is generally sound, and errors do not impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the argument without difficulty.

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