Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-12

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 5.0)

It is often argued that holidays are the best part of life. Short holidays are more better rather than long school holidays because in short holidays we can concentrate better in school work and do everything efectively. In long holidays like summer student become much lazy andspend most of time with friend. On th one hand short holidays are good for student because they can relax and feel better after the busy routine of school life. They spend most time very effectively because they knew that time is to short and do work betterly and focus on syllabus and value it precious time. For instance if students spend time doing enjoying outdoor activities and spending time with friend so they have in loss because they cannot pay heed to their studies and forget the previous lessons. On the other hand long holidays are good because they give time to student to rest and recover. After a long year of study and exams, children feel tried and stressed. A long break allows them to spend quality time with their family travel, sports and other activities. Because in my country pakistan most student learn new skills in summer holidays like computer course english language course, which they cannot learned during school time. this time help them to beco

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.5
Coherence and Cohesion4.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You address both sides of the question: you argue that shorter breaks can help students focus, while longer holidays allow rest, family time and learning new skills. The examples about summer computer and English courses in Pakistan are relevant. However, the discussion is only partially developed: the claim that students become lazy during long holidays is not explained, and the benefits of shorter holidays are mixed with a confusing example about outdoor activities and forgetting lessons. Your position is also not fully consistent, since the opening favours shorter holidays but the later paragraph gives substantial support to longer ones without a clear conclusion. The response is 34 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to develop both arguments. Explain each benefit more clearly and finish with a direct overall view.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, including an opening and two paragraphs introduced by “On the one hand” and “On the other hand.” This helps the reader recognise that you are discussing both positions. However, progression within the paragraphs is uneven, and some links between ideas are unclear. For example, the sentence beginning “For instance if students spend time doing enjoying outdoor activities” does not clearly show how the example supports the argument about shorter holidays. The final paragraph also ends abruptly, so the response has no completed conclusion. Use one main point per paragraph, connect examples explicitly to that point, and add a concluding sentence that summarises your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “relax,” “recover,” “quality time,” “stressed,” and “learn new skills.” These choices make the main subject understandable, and the reference to courses gives the response some specific language. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate, such as “more better,” “very lazy,” “betterly,” and “pay heed to their studies.” Spelling and spacing problems, including “efectively,” “th,” and “andspend,” also distract the reader. Aim for accurate, natural collocations rather than adding complexity: for example, say students “use their time effectively” and “lose focus on their studies.” Proofread spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with reasons, such as “After a long year of study and exams, children feel tried and stressed” and “A long break allows them to spend quality time with their family travel, sports and other activities.” However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and complex attempts are often faulty. There are recurring problems with agreement and verb forms, as in “student become” and “they cannot learned,” as well as missing or incorrect articles and sentence boundaries. The final sentence is incomplete, which makes the ending difficult to follow. Practise building accurate sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement, articles and punctuation before submitting.

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