Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-12
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
It is sometimes possible to pay somebody to do things you don't want to do, or don't have time to do, for example, household chores or looking after children.
Is this a good way of providing work for others?
Should people do these things themselves?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
Increasing number of people are engaging maids or household workers in order to do chores in their home. While in some case it might be helpful for some people to earn their living. From the owner's perspective, I see this as a negative development.
For the past few years, job schedule are getting longer, this results in spending less time inside homes. Since the overall time spending in home is tighter, people need to allot someone to take care of their home. Usually people from lower classes works in other homes. Work like this are often short- timed, so these type of minor jobs acts as their passive income, which would extremely helpful for their daily spendings.
From my view, it is still not impossible for the job workers to undertake their daily household chores. Most of people engage maids just because of their laziness. Majority spend time scrolling through social media in their leisure time especially after their work. Most of household chores acts as a minor exercise, doing those can transform one into a active person. Few hours can be definitely allocated for household chore. Instead of letting some workers inside home, children can be admitted into daycare centers which would be helpful for children. They would be able to spend time with other children and spend some time learning, for example, learning alphabets.
To sum up, while in some situations, employing a household workers may help with their income. If one cannot manage time, employing one would be helpful. In most the cases, it is not a good idea to letting someone to do their household chores.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the economic benefits for workers and the personal responsibility of individuals. However, the development is somewhat limited. The argument that people hire help simply due to 'laziness' is a significant over-generalization that lacks nuance regarding modern work-life balance or the necessity of professional childcare. While the position is clear, the ideas could be extended further with more sophisticated reasoning. The conclusion is a bit repetitive, and the response would benefit from a more balanced exploration of the complexities involved in outsourcing household tasks.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is an attempt to use cohesive devices, such as 'While', 'Since', and 'To sum up', but the flow is occasionally mechanical. Some transitions are slightly awkward, such as 'From my view, it is still not impossible for the job workers to undertake their daily household chores', which does not clearly link to the previous paragraph. Referencing is generally clear, but the progression of ideas within paragraphs could be smoother to achieve a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'household chores', 'people', and 'work'. The student attempts some collocation, but there are errors such as 'short-timed' (should be 'short-term') and 'daily spendings' (should be 'daily expenses'). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but the lack of more sophisticated or academic vocabulary prevents a higher score. More precise word choices would improve the overall impact of the arguments.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'Increasing number of people' (missing article), 'job schedule are' (subject-verb agreement), 'work like this are' (subject-verb agreement), and 'it is not a good idea to letting someone' (incorrect verb form). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. A greater focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and article usage is recommended.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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