Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-06

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)

Education is the foundation of learners to broaden their knowledge, and to shape their future for success. Many people argues that shools should implement a short-break vacation to help students more eager to learn on their subjects. Having a summer break and long holidays for students give the opportunity to relax, improved their well-being and they much more spending quality time with their families.

To begin with, summer holidays is a great way to unwind and help students breath after the stressful paperworks from their schools. Many students are more spontaneous and adventurous. They visited to the beaches, camping, attending musical festival and they went to the other places with their friends while enjoying their holidays. Moreover, it is the time to explore activities and make new decisions to find jobs for save money for paiding their tuition fees and other school projects.

Another significant idea for having a vacations, they have time for bonding together with their relatives and families. It is the opportunity to help their children from the household chores, creates leisure activities and especially developes new skills while they are staying their homes such as cooking and cleaning. In addition, some students they are become more balance after studying because they have enough time to refresh their mind and they extremly energetic to start for the next school year. Learners must have time to exercise, jogging in the parks and improved their good lifestyles.

In conclusion, either other people argumenting to extend schools for long holidays, But in my perspective, having a long term vacation have a multiple benefits and essential to manage their time to showcase their skills and students would more productive and maintaning their own mental health.

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 uneven. While you provide several points regarding the benefits of long holidays, the arguments in favour of shorter holidays are only briefly mentioned in the introduction and conclusion, rather than being developed in a dedicated paragraph. To improve, ensure that each part of the prompt receives balanced attention with clear, supporting examples. The position is generally clear, but the lack of depth in the counter-argument limits the score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as the transition 'Another significant idea for having a vacations'. Additionally, there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as 'either other people argumenting to extend schools', which makes the flow of ideas slightly disjointed. Improving the variety and precision of your linking words will help the progression of your arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'stressful paperworks', 'paiding their tuition fees', and 'they extremly energetic'. While you attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'tuition fees' and 'well-being', the frequent errors in word form and spelling (e.g., 'shools', 'developes', 'maintaning') occasionally distract the reader. Focusing on accurate word forms and more sophisticated collocations would significantly enhance your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('Many people argues', 'some students they are become'), incorrect verb forms ('improved their well-being' instead of 'improve', 'they visited to the beaches' instead of 'they visit'), and punctuation errors. These errors are noticeable and sometimes impede the clarity of your message. To reach a higher band, you should focus on mastering basic sentence construction and ensuring consistent verb tense usage.

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

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