Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-06

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)

The working sectors have their own schedules for their workers. Some companies have a policy of working the entire week, and others offer a long weekend.

As per my knowledge, companies that have their entire week for work, those companies offer reimbursement for their workers in the form of paid leave, health insurance, travel, and food allowances. Other companies left who have weekend off for their workers have their entire working calender plannned and executed in weekdays. Though they offer many benefits too like travel and health plans.

In my opinion, a company should have its work planned and assigned to its workers for weekdays only. Weekend should be off that way they will have more time to relax and rewind. They will be fresh and active for the work on Mondays.

Long weekdays make people more lazy and lethargic as they follow their routine in the same manner everyday. It makes them irritating too.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your response sits at this level because you address the task only partially and the length requirement is not met, as your essay contains 155 words, which is well short of the 250-word minimum. Regarding the content, you present a position by stating that companies should have work planned for weekdays only and weekends off. However, your ideas are limited and under-developed. For instance, when you mention that workers will be fresh and active or that long weekdays make people lazy, these points are stated briefly without sufficient explanation, support, or relevant examples from your own experience. To lift your task response to a higher band, you must write at least 250 words and fully extend your main ideas with detailed explanations and concrete examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

Your essay shows some organisation, but there is no clear overall progression from beginning to end. You attempt to divide your thoughts into paragraphs, but the logical flow between sentences is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions, such as moving directly from company policies on reimbursement to your personal opinion without a smooth bridge. Additionally, cohesive devices are somewhat repetitive or inadequate; you rely heavily on basic connectors and phrases like 'Other companies left who have weekend off'. Referencing is also not always clear, making it difficult to follow the relationships between your ideas. To improve, you should ensure that your ideas are logically sequenced with a clear overarching structure and use a wider variety of cohesive devices more accurately.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You demonstrate a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task. You successfully use some appropriate terms related to the workplace, such as 'reimbursement', 'health insurance', and 'paid leave'. However, there are noticeable vocabulary and word choice errors that may cause some difficulty for the reader, such as writing 'rewind' when you likely meant 'recharge' or 'unwind', and 'Other companies left who have weekend off'. There are also awkward phrasings like 'working calender plannned and executed in weekdays'. To achieve a higher band, you need to expand your lexical range, incorporate less common vocabulary with greater precision, and pay closer attention to natural word combinations and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

Your writing displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with occasional attempts at more complex forms. When you attempt complex sentences, they are often faulty or awkward in construction, such as 'companies that have their entire week for work, those companies offer reimbursement'. Furthermore, there are frequent errors in grammar, articles, prepositions, and punctuation that can cause difficulty for the reader, including missing articles and preposition errors like 'in weekdays' instead of 'on weekdays'. To reach the next level, you need to demonstrate a greater variety of complex structures with improved accuracy, ensuring that the majority of your sentences are error-free.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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