Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-25

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)

It is argued that there should be more holidays and lesser working days in a week. Improvement in the living standards and the results is possible.

Increased flexibility and number of non-working days can improve employees mental health and increase their productivity. For instance, Ahmed have 5 working days in a week and he might has to sit over-time that is exhausting since he is forcefully pushing himself in order to deliver his tasks within the deadlines. This can be less exhausting and more productive if more off days are given to Ahmed due to which he can rest for a longer period of time. In addition, more weekly-off can help in achieving a healthy and happy life. For instance, people in Japan are given more holidays to maintain a good lifestyle making sure health is not compromised and everyone is calm resulting in Japan being rated as one of the best places to live in the world.

In contrast, few working days have higher chances of exploitation by a certain number of people that can lead to tasks incompletion and inefficiency. Suppose a labour on a construction site in Karachi have been given more rest days in an expectation that he will work with more potential that can help in constructing the building earlier than expected. However, the worker keeps on working on another site in the greed to earn more money rather than giving himself some rest that can hinder his productivity, causing inefficiency due to his exploitation.

I agree with the idea that more holidays should be added in a week so that people can maintain a healthy lifestyle while performing well in their fields of work but misuse of such leaves can be expected from certain amount of people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position on whether the working week should be shorter. The writer covers both the benefits of a shorter working week, such as improved mental health and higher productivity, and potential drawbacks, such as worker exploitation. Ideas are supported with examples, such as the reference to Japan and a hypothetical construction worker in Karachi. However, some arguments lack deep extension, and the conclusion slightly contradicts the clear stance taken in the body paragraphs by introducing hesitation regarding misuse. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for Band 6.5, which rounds to a Band 6.0 in standard whole or half-band reporting conventions, though here we will award 6.5 as it covers all parts of the prompt with relevant, extended ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay is generally coherent with a clear overall arrangement. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'In contrast' and 'In addition', but some transitions feel a bit mechanical or simplistic. Referencing is mostly clear, although the transition between the introductory sentences is abrupt, as seen in 'Improvement in the living standards and the results is possible.' Logical progression is maintained throughout the body paragraphs, guiding the reader through the arguments. There is a clear logical organisation, qualifying the text for a Band 6.5, which is placed at Band 6.0 for occasional mechanical cohesion and slightly disjointed sentence linking at the paragraph level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'productivity', 'exploitation', and 'inefficiency'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'lesser working days' instead of 'fewer working days', 'Ahmed have' instead of 'Ahmed has', and 'weekly-off' instead of 'days off' or 'weekends'. Furthermore, phrases like 'with more potential' and 'in the greed to earn more money' demonstrate some limitation in natural phrasing. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. The writer attempts complex structures, such as 'Suppose a labour on a construction site in Karachi have been given more rest days in an expectation that he will work with more potential that can help in constructing the building earlier than expected.' However, this sentence suffers from grammatical inaccuracies, including subject-verb agreement issues ('labour... have been') and run-on structures. Other errors include 'he might has to sit over-time' and 'worker keeps on working... rather than giving himself some rest that can hinder'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent grammatical errors in verb forms and agreement prevent the score from reaching a higher band. The presence of these errors places the text firmly at Band 6.0.

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

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