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)
In today's world, where the amount of workload for every person in every aspect of professional fields is escalating steadily on a daily basis. The topic of working days and non-working days has long been a subject of debate. In almost every corner of the world, there are two weekends and five working days. Some people advocate that this weekly schedule is perfect, while others disagree. Although, I believe that this schedule does not satisfy every individual's work-life balance.
The people who believe that their work-life schedule is appropriate for them, the organization they are in plays crucial role in their satisfaction. Either the institute they are working for really take great care of their employees or provides them really appreciable benefits or both. On top of that the organization working environment is so positive and working there is so pleasant that every individual can easily balance their professional and personal responsibilities.
On the other hand, the people who disagree are mostly the people who work overtime in general and sometimes their organizations snatch away the time of their break due to workload. For instance, in most IT sectors on weekends employees have to work because the clients face issue in using company applications. These types of scenarios are common in every company nowadays. These are the reasons workers believe that they should have longer weekends.
In conclusion, people who agree with this contentious issue or disagrees, both have their own reasons. Consequently, I'm more inclined toward the individuals who believe that there should be more longer weekends. So there will be no injustice with the people’s work life balance and every person smoothly fulfills his professional and personal duties.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses the task by discussing both sides of the argument and clearly stating a personal position in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are presented regarding why some are satisfied with the standard working week while others desire longer weekends due to heavy workloads and overtime. However, the development of ideas tends to be somewhat superficial and descriptive rather than deeply extended with robust reasoning or concrete examples. For instance, the mention of IT sector issues is relevant but remains brief. The response addresses all parts of the prompt with a clear position, aligning best with Band 6.5 or Band 7.0 descriptors. Given the slight under-development of supporting arguments, a band score of 6.0 is appropriate, capturing the relevant ideas that remain somewhat under-developed.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay is generally coherent with an overall logical arrangement, dividing the response into a clear introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. However, paragraphing and sentence boundaries show noticeable mechanical issues. The opening sentence is a fragmented dependent clause starting with 'In today's world, where...', which lacks a main verb and creates a grammatical and cohesive flaw right at the start. Additionally, referencing and transitions between sentences can feel slightly repetitive or awkward, such as 'The people who believe that... the organization they are in plays crucial role...'. Cohesive devices are used, but their management is sometimes faulty. Consequently, this performance fits the Band 6 descriptor well.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'contentious issue', 'work-life balance', and 'professional responsibilities'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'the amount of workload... is escalating steadily' (workload increases rather than escalates in amount this way), 'more longer weekends' (redundant use of 'more' with 'longer'), and 'every person smoothly fulfills' (awkward collocation). There are also some missing prepositions and articles. While communication is not impeded, these frequent lexical slips prevent the essay from reaching Band 7. Therefore, a band score of 6.0 is well-deserved.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures are frequently marred by structural errors. The very first sentence is a fragment ('In today's world, where the amount of workload...'). Other grammatical errors include missing verbs, incorrect verb agreements, and punctuation issues, such as 'people who agree with this contentious issue or disagrees, both have their own reasons' (subject-verb agreement error with 'disagrees' and a dangling structure). While the writer attempts complex sentences, frequent errors persist, and control over punctuation and clause structures is inconsistent. These characteristics align closely with the Band 5.0 and Band 6.0 descriptors; a score of 5.5 reflects the mixture of simple/complex attempts alongside persistent structural inaccuracies.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.