Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many countries, primary and secondary schools close for two months or more in the summer holidays.

What is the value of long school holidays?

What are the arguments in favour of shorter school holidays?

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In many parts of the world, primary and secondary schools have two or more than two months of annual summer holidays. In this essay, we will explain the benefits and drawbacks of long vacations.

First of all, if the childern get long holidays they get more time to relax from their routine life and spend quality time with their family, which is essential for their mental health. For instance, if the kids spend more time in schools and coaching centers they will likely to end up cutting off with their loved ones and it will decrease their productivity.

Moreover, in the long holidays, childern will have more time for hobbies, sports and personal development. They can participate in their favourite sports, which improves their physical health.

On the other hand, long vacations can be disadvantage. If the students gets away from school for a longer period of time, they will less likely to forget what they learned in the school, and maintain a regular study routine. Furthermore, for some low-income working parents childcare facilities will not be a burden, if schools give less holidays.

In conclusion, both type of vacations have their own benefits, In the longer period of holidays, students can spend more time with their family, without worrying about the studies, and on their personal growth. However, over two months of holidays can be a problem for working parents as childcare is expensive, also students can distract from their study routine.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both questions by explaining benefits of longer breaks—rest, family time, hobbies and physical health—and arguments for shorter breaks, including maintaining study routines and easing childcare pressures on working parents. These points are relevant, but several are only briefly stated. For example, the claim that longer holidays support mental health is not illustrated or explained in much detail, and the point about students forgetting what they learned is unclear as written. The introduction promises to discuss “benefits and drawbacks,” rather than directly framing the two questions, and the conclusion mostly repeats earlier points. The response is also 7 words below the required minimum. Develop each argument with a clearer explanation or a specific example, and make the distinction between the value of long holidays and the case for shorter ones explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on the benefits of long holidays, a paragraph presenting arguments for shorter holidays, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “First of all,” “Moreover,” and “On the other hand” helps readers follow the shift between ideas. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes abrupt: the example about coaching centres and family relationships is not fully connected to the claim about productivity, while the childcare point appears without much development. The conclusion also repeats several ideas rather than drawing them together. Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and vary or reduce formulaic transitions so that cohesion feels more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “mental health,” “personal development,” “physical health,” and “childcare facilities.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “spend quality time” and “study routine.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which limits precision: “cutting off with their loved ones,” “a problem for working parents as childcare is expensive,” and “students can distract from their study routine” do not express the intended meanings naturally. Spelling errors such as “childern” are noticeable, and “holidays” and “time” recur frequently. Build a wider set of accurate collocations for education and family life, and proofread spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional clauses (“if the kids spend more time…”) and relative clauses (“which is essential for their mental health”). These structures help you express cause and effect, and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, some errors affect clarity and show that control is not yet consistent. For example, “they will likely to end up” has an incorrect verb pattern, “the students gets” has subject–verb disagreement, and “they will less likely to forget” is missing a grammatical element. There are also problems with articles, plurals and punctuation, particularly in the conclusion’s long sentence. Practise accurate verb patterns and agreement, then check sentence boundaries and punctuation during revision.

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