Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-07-29
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)
Summer holidays are the most playful and enjoyable days for the kids growing up. In some countries summer holidays are long and it is due to the climate of that area as long summer days and scorching heat can lead to health concerns.
Moreover people usually in that countries tend to go for holidays and or visit home town in that duration .
Likewise , some countries allow only shorter summer holidays as they don’t have a longer summer weather . So in that case students tend to return school earlier after a shorter duration of play and amusement .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 100 words. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed. While the student touches upon the value of holidays (play and family time) and the reasons for shorter holidays (climate), the ideas are severely underdeveloped. There is no clear structure or attempt to provide a balanced argument as requested by the prompt. To improve, the student must expand on each point with specific examples and ensure all parts of the prompt are addressed in full paragraphs.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is too brief to demonstrate effective paragraphing or logical progression. While there is a basic attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'Likewise', the overall structure is fragmented. The ideas are presented as a list of points rather than a cohesive argument. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to organize their thoughts into a clear introduction, body paragraphs with topic sentences, and a conclusion, ensuring that ideas flow logically from one to the next.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is basic and repetitive, such as the repeated use of 'holidays' and 'countries'. There is little attempt to use less common or academic vocabulary. Phrases like 'play and amusement' are functional but simplistic. To improve, the student should aim to incorporate more precise academic terminology related to education and social structures, and work on improving collocations to sound more natural and sophisticated.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains several grammatical errors, such as 'in that countries' (should be 'in those countries') and 'return school' (should be 'return to school'). The sentence structures are mostly simple or compound, with limited use of complex sentences. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the placement of commas. To improve, the student should focus on subject-verb agreement, correct preposition usage, and practice constructing more complex sentences using subordinating conjunctions.
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