Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-07

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)

In recent years, working week should be reduced so that employees can have longer weekend. In my opinion, I strongly agree with the given statement because a shorter working week can improve employees mental health and prodictivity.

To begin with, having a longer weekend would give the workers more time to take rest an spent their quality time with their family. Many workers work longer hours during their week and feel stress and exhaust in their hectic schedule which effect their physical and mental health. For instance, employees working in night shift having improper sleep and effecting their sleep cycle. Therefore, a shorter working week could contribute to a healthier and more balanced lifestyle.

Additionally, some people argue that a shorter working week could create financial difficulties for businesses, particularly if employees continue to receive the same salaries. This could increase operating costs and potentially lead to higher prices for consumers. Nevertheless, companies could address this problem by improving workplace efficiency and reducing unnecessary meetings and tasks.

However, reducing working hours does effect the prodictivity. In fact, when workers get tired, they are more lilkely to make mistakes and work less effectively. For example, employees after taking rest at weekends feel bore and in active to work during working week.

In conclusion, I believe that the working week should be shorter and employees should have a longer weekend. This may create some challenges for businesses, the benefits of better health, improved work-life balance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear from the introduction and conclusion: you strongly support a shorter working week, and you give relevant reasons concerning mental health, family time and productivity. You also acknowledge a counterargument about business costs and suggest improving efficiency, which helps address the issue from more than one perspective. However, several points are not fully explained or are confusing. The night-shift example does not clearly show how a shorter week would improve sleep, and the claim that rested employees feel “bore and in active” appears to contradict your argument. The conclusion also ends with an incomplete idea about the benefits. The response is 7 words below the required minimum. Develop each example clearly and ensure every point supports your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate body paragraphs and a conclusion. Paragraphs generally focus on relevant themes, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “Additionally,” “Nevertheless” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. However, progression between ideas is not always clear. The paragraph beginning “However, reducing working hours does effect the productivity” conflicts with the preceding argument and the example that follows is difficult to interpret. The relationship between the business-cost counterargument and your response could also be made more explicit. Some linking phrases feel mechanical, while the final sentence is incomplete, weakening the ending. Organise the body around a consistent line of reasoning and use clear references and transitions to show how each example supports your view.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, including “mental health,” “hectic schedule,” “operating costs,” “workplace efficiency” and “work-life balance.” These choices show an attempt to discuss both employee wellbeing and business concerns. However, noticeable spelling, word-form and collocation errors sometimes make the meaning unclear: “prodictivity,” “lilkely,” “take rest,” “feel stress and exhaust,” and “feel bore and in active.” Some expressions are also imprecise, particularly “effecting their sleep cycle” and “reducing working hours does effect the productivity.” Aim for accurate forms and natural combinations, and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish reduced weekly hours from longer daily shifts and make your examples easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a subordinate clause in “because a shorter working week can improve…” and a conditional structure in “if employees continue to receive the same salaries.” This gives the response some structural variety. However, errors occur across the response and sometimes obscure relationships between ideas. For example, “having a longer weekend would give the workers more time to take rest an spent” has faulty verb forms, while “employees working in night shift having improper sleep” is not a complete sentence. The final sentence, “This may create some challenges for businesses, the benefits of better health…,” is also incomplete and lacks a clear grammatical connection. Review articles, agreement, verb forms and sentence boundaries, and make sure each sentence has a complete main clause.

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