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)

Schools or colleges should have to be closed in summer vacations? Almost in all countries there is a holiday for students of schools or colleges for about two months. The holidays play a vital role for building the character of student and there is also an importance of shorter holidays. In this essay I discuss both views and give my opinion.

First, the student need a time to relax themselves because when the student consistantly studied for months they need some holidays. In this holiday they spend time with their family members and also relax their mind. For instance, In long holidays they have to do a lot of activities and sometime they make a tour of froiegn or inside the country with their parents visiting new place or those places they like to go. There they feel relax and unstressful from work at the school.

Secondly, it is also very important to give students not even to short or to long holidays. Because when student spend their long time at holidays they don't want to go back at school this is an important thing. They could pay heed to their studies properly. Another reason to give short holidays is that sometime they did not do their summer pack during the holidays and at the end of holidays when they go to they dont do homework, I think small meetings be held with their parents to aware their childrens.

In conclusion, Both arguments of long or short holidays has an equal importance, However, I believe to give students long holidays because they it and they should have to give time themselves and explore the new places, new things, different cultures or traditions with this learn a lot of new things.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions by explaining that long breaks allow students to rest and spend time with family, while shorter breaks may help them return to study and complete schoolwork. Your preference for long holidays is stated in the introduction and conclusion. However, the discussion of shorter holidays is less clear and developed: the point about students not wanting to return to school is asserted rather than explained, and the homework example is difficult to follow. The task asks for the value of long holidays and arguments for shorter ones, so develop each side with a clear cause-and-effect explanation and a specific example. Make your final position more precise rather than saying both arguments have equal importance before choosing one.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and signposts such as “First,” “Secondly” and “In conclusion” help identify the main sections. The overall progression is understandable: the first body paragraph supports long holidays, while the next presents reasons for shorter ones. However, links between ideas are sometimes mechanical, and some references are unclear. For example, “In this holiday” does not clearly refer to the two-month break, while “they” and “it” in the conclusion have uncertain referents. The second body paragraph also combines returning to school, homework and parent meetings without showing how these points connect. Use clearer topic sentences and link each supporting example directly to its main claim.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “relax,” “family members,” “summer pack,” and “different cultures or traditions.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “unstressful from work,” “make a tour of froiegn,” and “small meetings be held with their parents to aware their childrens.” Spelling errors such as “consistantly” and “froiegn” also reduce accuracy. Aim for natural, precise phrases and check spelling: for instance, describe students as “taking a break from schoolwork” or “visiting places abroad.” Repeating “holidays,” “students” and “important” less often would also improve flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a reason-and-result structure in “when the student … studied for months they need some holidays.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and frequent errors in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction can make the reader work to understand your meaning. For example, “the student need” should use a plural subject or a matching singular verb, and “Both arguments … has” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The opening question, “Schools or colleges should have to be closed in summer vacations?” is also not formed as a natural question. Practise building accurate sentences with one main idea, then add subordinate clauses only when you can control their grammar and punctuation.

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