Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-21

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)

Many individuals think that the working week should be shorter and employees should have a more time to rest. I partly agree with this idea.

On the one hand, in many countries working week is exhausting for everyone and only two days it's not enough to rest. They need some time for theirselves to boost their energy for another day. They don't have time for their families to do some activities, such as watching something on TV, spend their time with their children or travel with their friends as well. They have a busy schedules and same routine every day. Moreover, every person needs to have a trip with their friends or alone because it helps them to get rid of the stressful days and gain energy. For instance, travelling helps people to communicate with foreigner people and learn new things, see museums, listen to different kind of genres music which helps them to reduce the stress, calm their mind and ears, gain knowledge and broad their visions. It is crucial to spend their leisure time with their families and friends as well.

From another angle, if working weeks would be a shorter it will have a negative effect for employers and society as well. Nowadays, there are many individuals who needs to work because of salaries. They are working because they have responsibilities, such as paying the bills, rent and to develop their career as well. If working weeks will be a shorter it would have a negative effect of society. For instance, their salaries will be decreased and they will not have an opportunities to develop and gain their skills. most of the time supermarkets and shops will be closed which causes many difficulties.

In summary, shorter working week is great idea, but partly. From my perspective, balance is a great tool due to the fact that both of this opinions have advantages and disadvantages as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You present a partly agreeing position and address both sides: longer weekends could support rest and family life, while shorter working weeks might affect earnings and businesses. These points are relevant, but the position is not fully explained. For example, the opening says “I partly agree,” yet the conclusion calls a shorter week a “great idea, but partly” without clarifying what conditions would make it workable. Several supporting points, such as travel reducing stress and shops being closed, are asserted rather than explained or supported with a specific example. To strengthen the response, state clearly which changes you support—for instance, a shorter week with unchanged pay or a gradual trial—and develop the consequences for workers and employers in more detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph supporting longer weekends, a contrasting paragraph, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “From another angle,” and “In summary” help readers follow the broad direction. Within paragraphs, however, ideas sometimes accumulate without a clear progression. The first body paragraph moves from rest and family time to travel, museums, music, and stress, making its central point less focused. Some links are also mechanical or unclear, particularly the repeated use of “as well” and the shift from workers’ salaries to shops being closed. Group related reasons, use clearer references, and make each paragraph develop one main claim through explanation and an example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “responsibilities,” “salaries,” “stressful,” “career,” and “develop their skills.” There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “gain knowledge” and “reduce the stress.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which limits precision: “foreigners people,” “broad their visions,” and “different kind of genres music” are difficult to interpret naturally. Repetition of “negative effect” and “time” also narrows the range. Aim to learn common word partnerships and check word forms; for example, use “broaden their horizons,” “international visitors,” and “different genres of music.” This would make your ideas clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If working weeks will be a shorter…” and a relative clause in “which helps them to reduce the stress.” However, complex attempts are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to read. Examples include “employees should have a more time,” “working week is exhausting,” “They need some time for theirselves,” and “most of the time supermarkets and shops will be closed.” These show problems with articles, agreement, pronouns, verb forms, and sentence punctuation. Practise building accurate conditional sentences and checking subject–verb agreement and articles. For example: “If the working week were shorter, some employees might earn less.”

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