Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-16

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 week should be shorter giving opportunity to workers to have a longer weekend is agreeable statement. In my opinion weekdays must involve less work while weekends should be long enough to unwind and get ready for the next week.

Working week has to be short and tasks must be planned beforehand and divided into teams. Everyone should work and complete their targets on time so that weekends can be relaxing.

A shorter working week maximizes productivity and keeps the workers motivated. Another benefit is that it supports mental wellbeing of the employees and improves overall work quality.

For example flexible working hours and less days to work will lead to growth of a company and workers will be happy. They will have more time to spend with their family and personal life making them stick to their jobs.

In my personal views, I have short working days on a week and I come back to my work with peaceof mind and relaxed. A long weekend gives me ample amount of life to focus on my personal life making me love my job and have a worklife balance.

For example in nordic countries, people enjoy worklife balance which makes people happy. The working days are shorter and life quality improves with it.

Hence to recapulate, shorter working weeks leads to workers happiness, growth of the compay and contributes to the lifestyle of people.Overall it improves mental and physical health of individuals.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you agree that the working week should be shorter, and you give relevant reasons, including improved productivity, mental wellbeing and more time with family. The personal example and reference to Nordic countries also help connect the argument to experience and wider society. However, several points are asserted rather than explained: for instance, you say shorter hours will lead to company growth, but do not show how this would happen or acknowledge possible drawbacks. The response is also 8 words below the required 250-word minimum. Develop each main reason with a specific explanation or example, and ensure the response meets the stated minimum.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from your position to reasons, examples and a conclusion. Paragraph breaks help separate the main points, and phrases such as “For example” and “Hence” signal relationships between ideas. However, progression is somewhat repetitive: productivity, happiness, work-life balance and wellbeing recur without each paragraph adding a clearly distinct, developed point. Some links are also abrupt, particularly the move from general claims to the personal example. The conclusion repeats earlier claims rather than drawing them together. Organise the body around two distinct reasons, explain each in sequence, and use referencing and transitions to show how examples support those reasons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “productivity,” “mental wellbeing,” “targets” and “work-life balance,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “overall work quality.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, including “ample amount of life,” “in my personal views” and “growth of the company.” Spelling and word formation issues such as “compay,” “recapulate” and “peaceofmind” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, natural combinations and check spelling and spacing carefully; for example, use “ample time” and “in my view.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You communicate your main position using a mixture of simple statements and some longer structures, such as “They will have more time to spend with their family and personal life, making them stick to their jobs.” However, control of sentence structure and agreement is inconsistent. The opening sentence, “The working week should be shorter giving opportunity … is agreeable statement,” is difficult to follow and lacks a clear grammatical structure. There are also errors in “shorter working weeks leads” and “I have short working days on a week.” Articles, plurals and sentence boundaries need attention. Practise building clear subject–verb–object sentences first, then add subordinate clauses, and proofread each sentence for agreement and articles.

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