Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-17

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Many working people get little or no exercise either during the working day or in their free time, and have health problems as a result.

Why do many working people not get enough exercise?

What can be done about this problem?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Many people balancing both work and life, find it challenging to accommodate exercise in their routine. As a result, they barely workout and face health issues due to their sedentary lifestyle. This is mainly driven by lack of time and motivation and unseen mental stress experienced by working people, and there are some practical solutions to this problem.

The primary catalyst is that working people lack strong motivation to exercise. This is because most of them live in nuclear families and struggle to maintain their work-life balance. Not only they lack time but also motivation to prioritize themselves by doing selfcare or exercise. Furthermore, the mental exhaustion consumes their free time as well, and leaves them too tired to exercise even on their free days. To exemplify, the working women in a traditional Indian family, gets no time left to herself after working 40 hours a week and completing all the household chores.

Consequently, it causes weigh gain that results in various physical health and mental illnesses which deteriorates quality of life. The plausible solutions are workload division among family members, flexible work provision by employers, and initiatives to raise awareness by the government. Division of household chores and outsourcing some work can help people get some time for themselves. Freedom of work from home helps to save on time wasted in commute, which can be spent on exercise. The authorities should invest in awareness initiatives to educate people on physical and mental benefits of exercise to motivate individuals to adopt healthy lifestyle.

To sum up, while people somehow manage to balance both work and life, they miss out on exercising which creates a sedentary lifestyle. Nevertheless, with collaborative efforts from individuals, employers and the state, people can be encouraged to incorporate exercise in their routines.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the lack of exercise and potential solutions. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented. The position is consistent throughout. However, some points could be further developed to reach a higher band. For instance, the discussion on 'mental exhaustion' is a strong point, but the link between 'nuclear families' and 'lack of motivation' could be explained with more depth. The examples provided, such as the mention of working women in India, are relevant and help support the argument effectively. Overall, the response is well-focused and meets the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Furthermore', 'Consequently', and 'To sum up', which help the flow of ideas. However, there are instances where the transition between sentences feels slightly mechanical. For example, the start of the second paragraph could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task. The progression of ideas is logical, moving from the problem to the consequences and finally to the solutions.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is sufficient for the task and allows for clear communication. There is an attempt to use less common items like 'sedentary lifestyle', 'primary catalyst', and 'plausible solutions'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'weigh gain' (should be 'weight gain') and 'selfcare' (should be 'self-care'). While these do not impede communication, they prevent the response from reaching a higher band. The range is adequate, but more precise or sophisticated vocabulary could be used to enhance the quality of the arguments.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'Not only they lack time but also motivation' (should be 'Not only do they lack time, but they also lack motivation') and 'the working women... gets no time' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are minor slips. Despite these errors, the meaning is always clear, and the errors do not significantly impede the reader's understanding. A wider variety of error-free complex structures would be required for a higher band score.

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