Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
In the summer holidays, primary and secondary schools are closed for 2 months in many countries. The long school holidays gives students, the time to travel to other cities to visit their relatives or to enjoy any foreign place as well but it increases the pressure on students when the schools are not on vacation.
Students in primary and secondary schools have no chance to enjoy any kind of trip that takes more than a week due to absence of any long break during the time when academics are going on. As a result parents also can not enjoy trips to other cities. So when a final term exam is completed, schools offer 2 to 3 months summer holidays which enables students and their parents to go on for a trip which take weeks to complete. In India, during summer holidays, most of the children along with their mother, go to their maternal uncle's house to stay for weeks. Many times child's maternal grandparents are from a different town due to which they could not stay when the school is open. During summer vacation they can finally restrengthen this bond.
Shorter school holidays instead of a prolonged vacation, makes the child feel less exhausted during the year. If 2 months of holidays is removed and instead the number of days during this vacation is distributed uniformly within the year, a student will get more time to study and also has more time to prepare for exams as well. This reduces the pressure on children because now there is more time to study and that too with few holidays throughout the year. It becomes a good cycle of studying a few days and then relax in few holidays. Due to this reason majority of colleges worldwide follow this pattern.
In conclusion, long school holidays allow the child to go for a trip involving extended period of time whereas shorter school holidays reduces exhaustion in any child because the short break will refresh them for further studies.
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 addresses both parts of the prompt: the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. The ideas are relevant, particularly the cultural example regarding family visits in India. However, the development is somewhat limited. The argument for shorter holidays focuses heavily on 'exhaustion' and 'study pressure' without fully exploring the potential academic benefits or the logistical challenges for schools. While the position is clear, the supporting arguments could be more nuanced and detailed to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points, but the overall depth of analysis remains at a functional level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central theme. There is a progression of ideas from the benefits of long breaks to the advantages of a distributed schedule. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the transition 'Due to this reason' is used in a way that feels slightly forced. Additionally, some referencing is a bit vague, such as 'that too with few holidays', which makes the flow slightly disjointed. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific language like 'prolonged vacation' and 'distributed uniformly'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'go on for a trip' instead of 'go on a trip' or 'restrengthen this bond'. The word choice is functional but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. To improve, the student should focus on more sophisticated collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('The long school holidays gives', 'a student... has more time') and article misuse ('the absence of any long break'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but there are minor errors in sentence construction that occasionally disrupt the flow. The student demonstrates an ability to form complex sentences, but the control over these structures is inconsistent. Focusing on proofreading for basic agreement and article usage would significantly improve the accuracy of the writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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