Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-02

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 6.5)

In the modern world, many employees work longer hours and have difficulty maintaining a healthy work-life balance. I strongly agree that the working week should be shorter and workers should have longer weekends because it can improve their mental and physical well-being and increase productivity while allowing them to maintain a better balance between their professional and personal lives.

One major benefit of a shorter working week is that it can improve employees' physical and mental ability. Working for long hours with insufficient time for rest can cause stress, exhaustion and burnout. By having an additional day off, worker can get more rest and spend time on activities that help them to recover from demanding work schedules. As a result, they may return to work feeling refreshed, motivated and better able to concentrate on their responsibilities. For example, companies that introduce a four-day working week may find that employees experience greater satisfaction and maintain higher levels of productivety because they have more time to recover between working periods.

Aother important advantage of longer weekends is that they can improve employees' work-life balance. Workers have more time to spend with their families, pursue hobbies, exercise and undertake further education. These activities can improve their overall quality of life and may also make them satisfied with their jobs. Furthermore, satisfied workers may be more likely to remain in same organization, which can help employers retain experienced workers and reduce recruitment and training cost. For instance, an employee with three-day weekend could spend additional time with their children or attend a professional course while still having enough time to relax before returning to job.

In conclusion, I strongly agree that the working week should be shorter and employees should have longer weekends. This is because it can improve their physical and mental life balance, while extra off time strengthen work-life balance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt, taking a clear and consistent stance on whether the working week should be shortened. The ideas presented are generally relevant, such as the benefits to well-being and productivity, and elements of higher bands are demonstrated through extensions of these thoughts, such as considering employer retention benefits. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed or rely on broad generalisations rather than fully explored specific contexts, which prevents the response from reaching a higher band. For instance, the point regarding productivity is mentioned but not fully elaborated with a robust example. The position remains clear throughout the essay, fulfilling the core requirements successfully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each body paragraph focusing on a distinct main idea regarding the advantages of a shorter working week. Cohesive devices are employed to connect sentences, such as 'One major benefit', 'Aother important advantage', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally mechanical or slightly faulty, as seen in minor awkward transitions and a typographical error in transition markers. The overall organization ensures the reader can follow the argument easily, satisfying the foundational elements of logical progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common lexical items such as 'well-being', 'exhaustion', and 'professional responsibilities'. There is a sufficient variety of terms related to work environments and lifestyle balance. However, there are some noticeable lexical errors in word choice, spelling, and word forms that do not impede communication but prevent a higher score. Examples include the spelling error 'Aother' instead of 'Another', 'productivety' instead of 'productivity', and slightly unnatural phrasing such as 'returning to job' instead of 'returning to work' or 'returning to their jobs'. These minor slips show an attempt at precise vocabulary control with occasional inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as conditional concepts and participial phrases effectively. There is evidence of good control over basic grammatical frameworks. However, some errors in grammar and punctuation persist throughout the text, including article omissions and pluralization slips, such as 'worker can get' instead of 'workers can get', 'remain in same organization' missing a necessary article, and 'three-day weekend' missing a determiner. These errors are typical of the category, appearing as some mistakes among otherwise functional sentences, and they rarely impede overall communication or reader understanding.

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