Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-27
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, many people believe that the working week should be shorter and workers should have a longer weekend. I agree with this opinion because it can improve employees’ health and increase their productivity.
First of all, a shorter working week can give workers more time to rest and spend with their families. Many employees work for long hours from Monday to Friday, so they often feel tired and stressed. If they have a longer weekend, they can relax, enjoy their hobbies and spend quality time with their family. For example, a person who has two or three days off can use this time to visit relatives, exercise or simply recover from a busy working week.
Secondly, a longer weekend may help workers become more productive. When people have enough time to rest, they can return to work with more energy and concentration. As a result, they may complete their tasks more efficiently and make fewer mistakes. For instance, some companies that offer flexible working hours or shorter working weeks have found that employees can maintain good performance while having more personal time.
In conclusion, I agree that the working week should be shorter and the weekend should be longer. In my view
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5
The student presents a clear position agreeing with the prompt and supports this with two main ideas: improved health and family time, and increased productivity. However, the essay is abruptly cut off in the conclusion and contains only 202 words, which falls short of the mandatory 250-word minimum for Task 2. This under-length limitation directly impacts task completion and prevents full development of the arguments. Due to this significant negative word-count penalty as well as the incomplete final sentence, the response cannot achieve a passing grade for task achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
Despite the truncated conclusion, the essay shows a clear overall structure. It includes a proper introduction with a thesis statement, two distinct body paragraphs featuring clear topic sentences ('First of all', 'Secondly'), and appropriate supporting examples. Cohesive devices are used logically to connect ideas, and paragraphing is appropriate for the length of the text. Referencing is generally clear, and although the conclusion is incomplete, the progression of ideas up to that point is coherent and easy to follow, meriting a solid score for organization.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate vocabulary range suited to the task, including phrases like 'improve employees’ health', 'increase their productivity', 'recover from a busy working week', and 'flexible working hours'. While the vocabulary is mostly standard and common rather than sophisticated, it is used accurately and effectively to convey meaning. There are no spelling errors, and word choices are natural, though the lack of more advanced or uncommon lexical items keeps the score in the moderate band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
The essay demonstrates good grammatical control with a comfortable mix of simple and complex sentence forms. The student correctly employs conditional structures and relative clauses, such as 'If they have a longer weekend, they can relax...' and 'a person who has two or three days off can use this time...'. Sentences are largely accurate, and punctuation is handled correctly throughout the body paragraphs. Minor errors do not impede communication, and the grammatical structures used are clean and correct.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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