Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-29

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 5.0)

In the modern era, the weekly work schedule should be reduced, while workers should have a large weekend. I partially agree with this statement because many advantages and disadvantages for this statement.

First of all, there are several benefits for work week short. Firstly, employees will get it more rest and personal time, while reduced working hours can lower stress and burnout. They will get it an increasing number of hours for family, children and exercise, whereas rested workers can on work more focused and productive. The main benefit for spend more time for hobbies such as sports, reading, travelling and listen to music. For example, employees who work fewer hours may have more time to exercise, sleep properly and spend time with their families. As a result, they can feel less stressed and return to work with greater energy and concentration, which may improve their overall productivity.

Focusing on drawbacks, Not suitable for everyone for a short week because in essential sectors can necessary for long hours work in week like hospital, fire team, police station, army and transport. Fewer working hours can decreased for salary, Which major effects for financial conditions. For example, doctors, nurses and emergency workers cannot always work fewer hours because hospitals need to provide services around the clock. Therefore, reducing their working hours could create staff shortages and affect the quality of essential services.

In conclusion, this statements are many advantages and disadvantages but I particularly disagree with this statements because owing to short work week many problem for people life and especially middle-class like financial conditions, achieved for less salary, health care problem so I have not agree for this view.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource4.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by considering both advantages and disadvantages of a shorter working week, leading to a stated position in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on benefits mentions employees getting more rest, but this point is reiterated several times rather than extended with deeper analysis. The counterarguments regarding essential sectors are relevant, but the reasoning remains basic. The position shifts slightly from 'partially agree' in the introduction to 'particularly disagree' in the conclusion, which weakens the overall clarity of the stance. To reach a higher band, the ideas need to be more fully developed and supported with more cohesive argumentation throughout the essay, maintaining a consistent and clear perspective from start to finish.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is organized into four distinct paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, which provides a basic overall structure. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and mechanical use of cohesive devices, such as 'First of all,' 'Firstly,' and 'Focusing on drawbacks.' Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'For this statement' and 'this statements are many advantages.' Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within the paragraphs lacks smoothness, making the progression of ideas disjointed at times. To improve, the writer should use a wider variety of transitional phrases more naturally and ensure that referencing words clearly point to their intended antecedents, creating a smoother flow between sentences and ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The lexical range is limited and repetitive, with frequent reliance on basic vocabulary such as 'advantages,' 'disadvantages,' 'time,' and 'work.' There are numerous instances of inappropriate word formation, word choice, and collocation errors, such as 'work week short' instead of 'shorter work week,' 'get it more rest,' 'can on work more focused,' and 'decreased for salary.' While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the general topic, these persistent inaccuracies and awkward phrasing hinder smooth reading and sometimes strain comprehension. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to incorporate a wider range of less common lexical items with greater precision, paying closer attention to word forms, parts of speech, and standard collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and flawed attempts at complex clauses. Grammatical errors are frequent and pervasive throughout the text, including missing verbs, incorrect prepositions, and severe subject-verb or tense agreement issues, such as 'workers should have a large weekend,' 'employees will get it an increasing number of hours,' 'Not suitable for everyone for a short week,' and 'this statements are many advantages.' Punctuation and sentence boundaries are also problematic, resulting in run-on constructions and fragments like 'Which major effects for financial conditions.' These frequent errors cause considerable difficulty for the reader and impede clear communication, placing the response firmly in the lower band range for grammatical accuracy.

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