Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-20

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 5.5)

Exercise is the key to a healthy lifestyle. It is observed that people contribute nothing in terms of exercising whether they are working or staying home, as a consequence of this, individuals get caught up with acute diseases or serious health issues. Therefore, I personally believe that working individuals suffers a lot in making a work-life balance.

Being physically active can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. While individuals working have no leisure time to hit the gym or to do basic exercises to keep them fit. For instance, workers find it difficult to create a balance between their personal life and office work, therefore, adding a one more task to their daily routine may derail their life balance.

Apart from busy schedule, working people book a vacation to relax themselves physically and mentally. However, they often forget the basic necessities that keeps them fit and healthy. A sedentary lifestyle has been promoted by the workers which involves basic working routine and no plans for the exercise.

There are some solutions that can be offered at workplace and can be performed at home. For instance, attending webinars on exercise and healthy lifestyle, or organizing the games at workplace on every weekend to keep the employees inclined with physical activity. Moreover, they can promote less working hours to promote one hour exercise routine at workstation before starting the work or maybe after completing the working day.

To sum up, it is difficult to maintain work-life balance and it results in sedentary lifestyle, however, it can be maintained with correct implementations of rules at workstation which includes webinars, podcasts, leisure activities on weekends and many more.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the lack of exercise and potential solutions. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the explanation of why workers struggle to find time is repetitive, focusing primarily on 'work-life balance' without exploring other factors like fatigue or commuting. The solutions provided, such as 'webinars' and 'organizing games', are relevant but could be more thoroughly explained to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the issue. The position is clear, but the overall argument lacks the depth required for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Apart from', 'However', and 'Moreover', but they are sometimes used mechanically or with slight inaccuracies in context. For example, the transition 'Apart from busy schedule' is grammatically awkward. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the connection between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother. The conclusion summarizes the main points effectively, though it introduces a slight repetition of the earlier points rather than synthesizing them into a final thought.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety expected at higher levels. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'working people', 'lifestyle', and 'balance'. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary ('sedentary lifestyle', 'work-life balance'), other word choices are imprecise, such as 'contribute nothing in terms of exercising' or 'derail their life balance'. The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but it does not demonstrate the flexibility or sophisticated control required for a band 7 or above.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('working individuals suffers'), incorrect article usage ('a one more task'), and awkward phrasing ('a sedentary lifestyle has been promoted by the workers'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they indicate a lack of consistent control over complex structures. Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels slightly unnatural.

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

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