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)

It is often argued that working week should be shorter and workers should have a longer weekend. I believe that a shorter working week makes lives easier for worker and they allow workers to spend more time with their families.

One important benefit of shorter working week is that workers can enjoy more free time and spend it with their families. A longer working week create stress and anxiety for a workers and may also lead to different health problems. For instance, some companies ask their workers to work extra hours by forcing them, even they call them on a weekend and offer some extra money.

On the other hand, a shorter working week may have some disadvantages. Firstly, workers earn less money because they earn what they done on whole month. Secondly, workers may find difficulties to complete their task because they will have pressure to do all targets in the short period of time and it's pretty not possible for them. For example, a shorter working week not beneficial for companies because this may affects to their budget and company goes to loss.

In conclusion, although a shorter week may have create some financial and work related problems. I believe that a shorter week have more benefits for workers. They are able to enjoy more time and gave much time to their families. Furthermore, a shorter week also gave some relaxation and healthy life for them. Therefore, companies should consider shorter working weeks to help employees maintain a healthy work life balance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear opinion in favour of a shorter working week and address both benefits and possible disadvantages. Relevant points include more family time, stress and health problems, reduced earnings, and pressure to meet targets. However, several ideas remain general: the example of employers calling workers at weekends is not fully connected to how a shorter week would solve the problem, and the effects on company budgets are asserted rather than explained. The conclusion restates your position but adds little development. The response is 242 words, so it is 8 words below the 250-word minimum; the 12 words copied from the task prompt are not counted. Develop your examples and explain the links between each reason and your position more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the other hand,” “Firstly,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes weak, and some links are unclear. For example, the point about workers earning less is followed by a claim about completing targets, without explaining how these concerns relate. The conclusion repeats ideas about family time and relaxation rather than synthesising the discussion. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example explicitly to the point it supports. Vary the linking language and use pronouns or repeated key terms carefully so references remain clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “stress and anxiety,” “health problems,” “targets,” and “work life balance.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “maintain a healthy work life balance.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which makes parts of the response less natural. Examples include “a longer working week create stress,” “earn what they done on whole month,” and “company goes to loss.” Choose more precise expressions, such as “increase stress,” “monthly salary,” and “make a loss.” Avoid repeating “shorter working week” and “more time” by using suitable alternatives, while checking that each phrase fits its context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a conditional idea (“because they will have pressure to do all targets”) and a concession in the conclusion. However, errors are frequent, and some complex constructions are difficult to follow. Subject–verb agreement is inconsistent: “A longer working week create” and “this may affects” should use “creates” and “may affect.” There are also problems with articles, plurals, and verb forms, as in “for a workers,” “their task,” and “although a shorter week may have create.” Sentence boundaries and clause construction need attention, too, particularly in “even they call them on a weekend.” Practise accurate basic sentence patterns first, then build longer sentences and proofread for agreement, articles, and verb forms.

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.