Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-05

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 5.0)

Many people think that in the summer or two months holidays, schools should be close because it is beneficial for students mental health, they can take a rest from the study pressure. In my opinion, the value of long school holidays helps in nation economy by saving fuels and electricity, and in favour of shorter school holidays help learners to not forgetting what they learned and less skip learning.

On the one hand, long academy vacations decreased the uses of fuels and electricity, which helps their nation from resources crisis. If in many countries, primary and secondary colleges close for long breaks or vacations then that help them from crises. For example, developing countries give long school vacations then they can save fuels and electricity that helps them to rise their economy and help from issues like, money. So, it is the value of long school holidays. But, there are some disadvantage of it. Students were become lazy and skip their daily routine toward their study.

On the other hand, shorter academy vacations helps learners to not forgetting what they learned and less skip learning. For instance, if pupils get one month holidays, it helps them to keep focusing on their routine and not forget what they study as well as they never skip to learn like, math and other subjects in shorter schools holidays.

In conclusion, I believe that both long and short schools holidays have their own value and benefit for many countries toward their economy and in pupils study.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. However, the development of ideas is limited and repetitive. The argument regarding the 'nation economy' and 'saving fuels' is somewhat illogical and lacks a clear, convincing explanation. The points regarding student learning are mentioned but not fully extended with specific examples or logical depth. The position is clear, but the supporting arguments are underdeveloped, which prevents the response from reaching a higher band. To improve, you should focus on providing more realistic and well-reasoned arguments for both sides of the debate.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate, such as the repetitive use of 'in favour of' and 'on the one hand/on the other hand'. Some transitions between sentences feel forced, and the logical flow within paragraphs is occasionally disjointed. For example, the transition from discussing fuel savings to 'money' issues is abrupt and lacks clarity. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choices and non-standard collocations, such as 'academy vacations' instead of 'school holidays', 'less skip learning', and 'students were become lazy'. These errors occasionally make the meaning slightly unclear. To improve, you should focus on learning more natural collocations and academic vocabulary. Avoid repeating the same phrases and try to use more precise terminology to express your ideas more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('schools should be close', 'students were become lazy'), article usage, and incorrect verb forms ('not forgetting what they learned'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be distracting. To reach a higher band, you need to focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and increasing your control over complex sentence structures to ensure they are error-free.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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