Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-03

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)

For decades, schools have been giving summer holidays to the students especially in hotter countries to prevent the students from heat-stroke while some schools are against this activity due to some genuine reasons. I strongly agree with the second type of school's arguments for some reasons.

Initially, primary and secondary schools have been closing in the extreme hot months of summer because they argue that they want to save students from the hot weather conditions which can cause serious health problems. They also claims that students take less interest in studies due to severe weather conditions and transportation is also a serious issue in hot days in under-develop countries. Schools also claims that these long holidays are beneficial for physical health of the students because they can participate in different sports activities and hobbies. For example, in many South Asian countries schools usually gave more than 2 months of holidays in summer and the students participate in different sports events in this time and even some students visit historical places.

Secondly, some schools argue that longer holidays can destroy the educational interest in student and also they fail to complete the syllabus of the semester which ultimately destroy their educational future. These schools always demand shorter holidays from the government for these reasons. For instance, in some countries, schools have started summer camps during summer holidays for one month to reduce the holidays span and to cover their syllabus which is giving better results in these countries.

In conclusion, I reach to this point that opinions of both types of schools are correct for the mentioned reasons but I am in favour with the shorter holidays due to their strong reasons.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. However, the development is somewhat superficial. While you mention health and sports as benefits of long holidays, these points are not fully explored. Similarly, the argument for shorter holidays focuses primarily on syllabus completion. The position is clear, but the ideas could be extended with more depth or specific examples to reach a higher band. The conclusion is a bit repetitive and does not fully synthesize the arguments presented. To improve, ensure each body paragraph provides a more detailed explanation of the 'why' and 'how' behind your points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use basic cohesive devices like 'Initially', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally repetitive (e.g., 'These schools...'). The transition between the two main body paragraphs could be smoother to better contrast the two perspectives. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that pronouns and references clearly point back to the intended subjects.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. You rely on somewhat repetitive phrasing, such as 'some schools argue' and 'for these reasons'. There are also some minor collocation issues, such as 'destroy the educational interest' (which sounds unnatural; 'diminish academic engagement' would be better) and 'under-develop countries' (should be 'underdeveloped'). While you attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'syllabus' and 'heat-stroke', the range is limited. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated synonyms and collocations to express your ideas with greater nuance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several recurring grammatical errors that affect the quality of the writing. For instance, subject-verb agreement is inconsistent: 'They also claims' (should be 'claim') and 'Schools also claims' (should be 'claim'). There are also issues with article usage and preposition choice, such as 'in hot days' (should be 'on hot days') and 'in favour with' (should be 'in favour of'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they occur frequently enough to limit your score. Focusing on proofreading for basic agreement and verb forms will help.

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