Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-11

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)

Workers deserve more days on the weekends, and a shorter working days. I strongly agree to this statement, as someone who grew up with parents who spent most of their time at work, giving Sunday as their free time with their families.

Growing up, my parents would leave the house at 5am, and return to our home at 5pm. After than, they are busying doing house chores, and would not notice that it is bedtime already. This was our scenario at home for the past 32 years, in short, I grew up with my grandparents, longing the love and care of my parents. Also, as someone who works in the healthcare field in the Philippines, with most working more than 48 hours a week, that results to early burnout in work, leaving their workplace for less than a year. Shorter working days will get us more days to rest. This kind of scenario can be seen in the USA. Nurses only worked for 36 hours a week, which means that they get a 4-days off and 3 days of working, which is why Filipinos dream in working abroad. They see their worth there.

But, what can be the downside of this scenario? Why would people disagree with this statement? Lesser working days and more rest days means that companies must hire more staff to fulfill the gaps of shifting. This can be a positive impact to the employment rate for some countries, while this can also have a negative effect to the employer because they will be needing to pay more employees. But, other than that, I believe that this idea is a highly effect strategy to keep their employees longer to prevent burnout.

To conclude, I believe that employees deserve longer weekends ans shorter working days to have more time with their families and to prevent the burnout feeling.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction to the conclusion: you support shorter working weeks and longer weekends. You address the main issue with relevant reasons, especially family time and the risk of burnout, and your experience in healthcare gives the argument a personal, specific basis. You also consider a counterargument by noting that employers may need to hire additional staff and meet higher costs, then explain why you still favour the change. This covers the task well. To strengthen the response further, develop the broader claims more carefully: for example, explain how the US nursing schedule illustrates a workable model, and qualify the generalisation that it is why Filipinos want to work abroad. A more explicit link between shorter working days and longer weekends would also sharpen the argument.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall shape: an opinion-led introduction, a paragraph of personal and workplace reasons, a counterargument, and a conclusion. The progression from family effects to healthcare burnout and then employer costs is generally easy to follow. You also use signposting such as “Also,” “But,” and “To conclude” to guide the reader. However, some connections are abrupt or imprecise. The move from your parents’ experience to healthcare staffing could be linked more explicitly, and “This kind of scenario” does not clearly identify which point it refers to. The counterargument paragraph would be stronger if it distinguished the employment benefit from the employer cost more clearly. More varied, precise referencing and smoother links between examples would make cohesion less dependent on basic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range to discuss work, family life, and employment, including “early burnout,” “fulfill the gaps of shifting,” and “employment rate.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and the healthcare context gives you relevant topic vocabulary. There are, however, several inaccurate or unnatural expressions that limit precision: “more days on the weekends,” “longing the love and care,” “a highly effect strategy,” and “the burnout feeling.” Some wording is also repetitive, particularly “scenario” and “working.” Aim to learn common collocations as complete phrases and choose words that express the intended relationship precisely. For instance, describe a schedule as “a four-day working week” rather than “4-days off and 3 days of working,” and use “reduce burnout” instead of “prevent the burnout feeling.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including a conditional-style question about the downside and a sentence explaining the effect of longer rest periods. The overall meaning is usually understandable, but some errors in sentence structure, verb forms, agreement, and punctuation remain. For example, “After than, they are busying doing house chores” has an incorrect time expression and verb construction; “Nurses only worked for 36 hours a week” shifts tense within a general claim; and “a shorter working days” has an article and number mismatch. The opening sentence is also a fragment-like construction, while the final sentence contains a spelling error that affects grammatical presentation. Review articles and singular/plural agreement, and edit each sentence for a complete subject–verb structure. Greater accuracy across these patterns would make your varied sentences more controlled.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.