Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-26

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)

Nowadays, it is suggested that there should be a reduction in working days and more time should be provided to the labours for the relaxation. I completely agree with this view because in the present era, work-related stress is increasing and workers are not being able to maintain their work-life balance.

First and foremost, in the short weekend workers rarely find any time for family and outing because they have to spend all day in doing crucial things for home other than office work. Therefore, their whole weekend is passed without having proper rest. Consequently, they become exhausted and depressed. This is the main reason behind the need of extended weekend. For instance, in highly developing countries like China, workers got many paid holidays during the whole year in addition to weekly holidays. They give approximately 60 paid holidays to pregnant woman working in the office.

Secondly, a long working week causes stress and mental exhaustion among the employees which can lead to unbalanced life. Workers will be unable to stabalize their work and life. This can be a serious issue because it can results into mental trauma. As a result, there will be no satisfaction for worker in the office as well as in the home. Therefore, it is very essential to provide workers a longer weekend, so that they can have free time to release stress. For example, in some countries, various companies give stress-releasing trips and treats to their workers.

In conclusion, I subscribe to the view that there should be a more time for employees in the end of the week to perform their other tasks and to relax themselves. Moreover, working days should be minimized to protect the workers from depression and extreme labour.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student presents a clear position throughout the essay, strongly agreeing that the working week should be shortened to benefit employees. All parts of the task are addressed, and the ideas are supported with relevant arguments regarding work-related stress and work-life balance. However, the development of ideas leans towards over-generalisation in places, and some examples, such as the mention of China providing 60 paid holidays specifically to pregnant women, are slightly tangential or factually unconvincing for supporting a general 4-day work week. Nevertheless, the main position is sustained well throughout. This performance aligns comfortably with the Band 6.5 to Band 7 descriptor range, specifically fitting Band 6.0 due to some under-developed supporting examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a clear overall arrangement with logical progression from the introduction through body paragraphs to a proper conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with distinct body paragraphs addressing different reasons (family time/exhaustion and mental health trauma). Cohesive devices are employed adequately, utilising markers like 'First and foremost', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' to signal the structure. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes a bit mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'Therefore' and 'As a result' to link sentences. Overall, the logical flow is easy to follow, making this a solid Band 6.5 performance.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'work-life balance', 'exhausted', 'mental trauma', and 'stress-releasing'. There are occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'labours' instead of 'laborers' or 'workers', 'stabalize' (spelling error: stabilize), and 'results into' instead of 'results in'. Despite these minor flaws, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly without impeding communication, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating conditional and subordinate clauses successfully (e.g., 'because in the present era, work-related stress is increasing and workers are not being able to...'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings present, such as 'are not being able to' (should be 'are unable to'), 'in doing crucial things' (should be 'doing crucial tasks'), and spelling slips like 'stabalize'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors do occur, they rarely impede communication. This corresponds closely to the Band 6 descriptor.

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