Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

Observation has shown that many countries give extended holidays for children in the summer. indeed, it leaves kids time to explore other talent, and decide early on what will suit them for te futur. However, parents are complaining and request shorter school holidays to gain more time for themselves and their job.

On the one hand, Holiday school break is the perfect moment of children to assimilate what they have learn for a certain period of time. In primary and secondaryschools, kids are young, drawning them for an extended period of time intolearning newinforrmation can lead to burnout in a very young age.It is important to understand than not all of them are destin to become intellectual some may find they path outside of school. On vacation parents expose kids to variety of sport , other kids show interest in cookingor makeup.

On the other hand, Parents find it difficult tohave the kids at homefor too long. Managing work life and taking care of kind for a long period of time sometime require one parent to stop working and stay at homepermanently. Moreover, parents can also experience bournout, and especially women because they are more likely to stop they carrier to stay home and provide for the kids.

In conclusion, Vacation are an amazing opportunity for children to know themselves and decide on what to do in they futur. But, it also to provide shorter holidays for kids, for parents to have more self time, focus and their job and not fall into burnout.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and present a relevant contrast: long breaks can give children time to rest, explore interests and consider paths beyond academic study, while shorter breaks may ease pressure on working parents. The examples of sports, cooking and makeup help illustrate children’s opportunities. However, some points are asserted rather than explained. For instance, the claim that holidays help children “assimilate” what they have learned is not developed, and the discussion of parents’ work and caregiving could explain more clearly how shorter holidays would help. Your conclusion restates the two sides, but the position on the value of long holidays versus shorter ones remains somewhat general. Develop each main reason with a clearer explanation or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs signalled by “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” and a conclusion. This makes the two sides of the discussion easy to identify. Some links between ideas are less clear, however. In the first body paragraph, the move from children’s need for a break to the idea that some may pursue paths outside school is abrupt. The conclusion also introduces the idea of providing shorter holidays without clearly connecting it to your overall view. Linking phrases are sometimes mechanical, and unclear references such as “they” in “decide on what to do in they futur” make the meaning harder to follow. Use transitions to show cause and effect, and make pronoun references explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “extended holidays,” “burnout,” “assimilate,” and “career,” and you attempt to discuss education, children’s interests and family responsibilities. However, inaccurate word choice, spelling and collocation are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “drawning them” for keeping children engaged, “destin” for destined, “self time,” and “provide for the kids” where the intended meaning is not fully clear. Some expressions are also unnatural, such as “Holiday school break” and “know themselves.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations of words and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would help you express the relevant ideas without relying on broad or awkward phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast introduced by “However” and a conditional idea about one parent stopping work. Some grammatical errors remain and occasionally make relationships between ideas unclear. For example, “what they have learn” needs a corrected verb form, while “it also to provide shorter holidays” is missing a suitable verb structure. There are also problems with articles, agreement and sentence boundaries, as in “Vacation are” and “young age.It is.” These errors occur alongside some understandable sentences, such as “Managing work life and taking care of kind for a long period of time sometime require one parent to stop working.” Practise checking verb forms, agreement and complete sentence structure, especially in longer sentences.

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