Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-14

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)

Nowadays, the education system reach at highest point . There are many competitions held by the educational systems.So,therefore,children have to do work hard all the years.Nevertheless,they also have break to take some rest and revise their subjects .As we know in many countries,primary and secondary schools close for two months in the summer holidays.This essay will disuss the value of long school holidays as well as arguments in favour of shorter school holidays.

The main advantage of giving school holidays is that Firstly,children can revise their subjects which they learn from school over the year. They can work on their weak subjects like Math and Science.For example,if one student is week in math ,in holidays, he/she have enough time to do practice on the math questions and if someone is week in Science ,he/she can understand the important concept of that subject within the holidays.Secondly, they can spend the quality time with their parents.They can play more with friends.They can visit their favourite places and relatives home.As a result,They feel free instead of handling the study pressure.

Some people argue that long school holidays give bad effect on the students education.This means that some parents think that long term gap between studies and holidays will effect their studies .They can forget all things what learn from the school.they cannot concentrate property in studies at home.Moreover,nowadays,most of the parents are now working and busy in their life .So,therefore,they have no enough time to help children with their studies.Some of the parents are not educated .As a result ,some parents want shorter school holidays.

In conclusion, i personally feel that long holidays will give them stress free and grow physically and metanly both.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: the first body paragraph explains that holidays allow students to revise weaker subjects and spend time with family, while the next presents parents’ concerns about learning gaps and limited support at home. These are relevant points, and the conclusion gives a personal view. However, the value of long holidays is developed more fully than the case for shorter ones, which is mostly presented as parents’ concerns; explain more directly how shorter breaks could support continuity in learning. The final view that holidays reduce stress is also not fully reconciled with the arguments. The response meets the stated length requirement; 11 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two sides, and a conclusion. Sequencing within the first body paragraph is also clear, with “Firstly” and “Secondly” marking distinct benefits. However, some linking is mechanical or inaccurate: “So, therefore” is redundant, and “This means that” does not clearly connect the claim about long holidays to the explanation that follows. Several ideas are placed in short, loosely connected sentences, such as visiting friends and relatives, rather than being grouped and explained as one line of reasoning. To improve progression, use fewer formulaic connectors and make the relationship between each claim, explanation, and example explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “revise their subjects,” “study pressure,” and “school holidays.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make parts less clear or natural. For example, “give bad effect” and “forget all things” do not express the intended ideas idiomatically, while “week” is used where “weak” is meant and “metanly” is misspelled. Repetition of “holidays,” “parents,” and “studies” also limits variety. Build a more precise set of phrases for learning continuity, rest, and family support, and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer conditional or explanatory structures, such as “if one student is week in math…” and “Some people argue that long school holidays…”. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some passages difficult to follow. Examples include “the education system reach,” “he/she have enough time,” and “all things what learn from the school,” which show problems with agreement, verb forms, and clause construction. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also inconsistent, with missing spaces after full stops and commas. Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a clearly formed subordinate clause before adding more complexity.

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