Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-03

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)

I disagree with the statement that the working week should be shorter and workers should have a longer weekend. This essay will discuss how longer weekends will deteriorate the efficiency and productivity of people . For example how longer relaxation periods influence future laziness.

People are never satisfied with what they get and they always want more. If the weekends become longer it will create the sense of laziness as they will be unproductive for longer time so they will be more likely to be uninterested towards going to work. For example: when people people get normal weekends they feel less motivated to go back to work after a weekend. So, with this we can assume that the amount of motivation will dive even more lower if the weekends become longer.

In addition, longer weekends will effect the health conditions of people as well. Shorter working weeks means less productivity and low chances of being proactive. People mostly have zero movements while in weekends. Along with that, the food habits also affects, as most of the people have junk foods during weekend. For example: People tend to go out, hangout, meet friends in restaurants and have junk foods.

In conclusion, the disadvantages of having shorter working week and longer weekends outweighs the advantages . People will be possesed by the laziness more , will become unproductive, less interested in going to work and will have many health issues. Overall the current situation of number of working days and weekends is perfectly balanced according to me.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear from the opening—“I disagree”—and the essay gives reasons related to productivity and health, so it responds to the topic. However, the ideas remain limited and are not developed enough to fully support your view. The claim that longer weekends create laziness is asserted rather than explained, and the example about people feeling less motivated after a normal weekend does not establish that a longer weekend would make this worse. The health point also needs a clearer link to shorter working weeks. The response is 242 words, below the 250-word minimum; the 13 words copied from the prompt are not counted. Develop each reason with a more specific explanation or relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall arrangement: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting reasons, and a conclusion that restates your position. This makes the main line of argument easy to follow. You also use basic signposting such as “For example,” “In addition,” and “In conclusion.” However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. The opening says the essay will discuss “how longer weekends will deteriorate” productivity, but the following fragment beginning “For example how…” does not form a complete sentence. In the second body paragraph, the move from productivity to health and then food habits is abrupt. Improve progression by giving each paragraph one central claim and explicitly explaining how each example supports it; also avoid repeating the conclusion’s list of earlier points without adding a final implication.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main concerns, including “efficiency,” “productivity,” “motivation,” and “health conditions.” However, the range is limited and several choices or combinations sound unnatural, which sometimes makes the argument less precise. For instance, “the amount of motivation will dive even more lower” is awkward, while “zero movements” and “possessed by the laziness” do not express your intended ideas naturally. There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, such as “possesed,” and repetition of “people,” “weekends,” and “longer.” Build a more accurate range of collocations for work and wellbeing, and choose precise alternatives rather than intensifying phrases such as “even more lower.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional clauses such as “If the weekends become longer…” and a subordinate clause beginning “as most of the people have junk foods.” These attempts help convey cause and effect, but the range is limited and errors recur. Examples include “People mostly have zero movements while in weekends,” where the sentence pattern and preposition are faulty, and “the food habits also affects,” where the subject and verb do not agree. The opening also contains an incomplete sentence: “For example how longer relaxation periods influence future laziness.” Punctuation is sometimes awkward, including spaces before full stops and the use of a colon after “For example.” Practise complete sentence construction and check agreement and clause boundaries.

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

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