Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-13

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 4.0)

In most countries, primary and secondary schools close for two months sometimes more in the summer holidays .Which are almost three months duration.

The schools which are close for long time holidays they are very harmfull for the study of students. By the long holidays flow of study which already built break during this period . Students mind usefull to relax and after long period holidays students face difficulties to start up again for study

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response makes a relevant start by identifying that long holidays interrupt students’ studies and that returning to school can be difficult. However, it does not answer both parts of the question: it gives no value or benefits of long holidays and does not explain arguments in favour of shorter holidays. The ideas about disrupted study and difficulty restarting are also only briefly stated, without reasons, examples, or a clear position. The response is 66 words, so it is 184 words below the 250-word minimum; 9 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. To improve, address each question directly, develop several relevant points, and support them with examples before concluding.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic connection between the ideas: the response moves from long holidays to a possible effect on students’ studies and then to difficulty returning to study. This gives the reader a limited sense of the intended argument. However, the writing is too brief to establish a clear overall progression, and there are no developed paragraphs or linking expressions to show how the points relate. The opening sentence is also difficult to follow because the second fragment, “Which are almost three months duration,” is not clearly connected to it. Organise the response into an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two questions, and a conclusion, using clear links such as “On the one hand” and “By contrast.”

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses a small set of relevant words, including “primary and secondary schools,” “summer holidays,” “study,” and “students,” so the general topic is recognisable. There is also an attempt to express an effect with “face difficulties.” However, the vocabulary is repetitive and several choices or forms make the meaning unclear, such as “very harmfull,” “flow of study,” and “Students mind usefull to relax.” Spelling and word formation also need attention. Build a wider range of accurate phrases for discussing learning and rest, and check whether each word fits its intended meaning. For example, explain that holidays may “interrupt learning” or give students “time to rest and recharge,” rather than relying on unclear expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts to communicate several connected ideas, and the final sentence uses a time relationship between the holiday and students’ return to study. However, sentence structures are mostly basic, and errors in sentence formation and punctuation often make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “Which are almost three months duration” is a fragment, while “The schools which are close for long time holidays they are…” has an unclear clause structure. In “By the long holidays flow of study which already built break,” the relationships between the subject, verb, and clauses are not clear. Practise complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and use full stops to separate ideas. A useful revision is: “Long holidays can interrupt students’ learning, so some may find it difficult to resume their studies.”

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