Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-07
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 many countries, many students enjoy long summer holiday may have tow months or even more because some believes that Extended break provides several benefits. many people think that shorter holiday beneficial for students' it is improv an academic performance. This essay will discuss both perspective before given my own view.
On the one hand, long holiday provides students' personal growth. This is because it is relax and reduce the academic pressure. After months studying, sufficient time for physically and mentally and also children's need to break and they do some other task., take a part in practical activity, participate sport and learn practical skill which have not teach in classroom. China, Hence, in vacation time schools give a task of their student that improve they skills and useful in future. Even children spend time with their families and plan a trip with them. As a result, after vacation time when students going to the school they feel refreshed, motivated, and better ready for next academic year.
On the other hand, shorter holidays stable children academic performance. This is because student maintain their learning habit and reduce knowledge loss. A lengthy break may causes children forget what they learn and it is a making difficult for teacher to revies previous lessons at the beginning. For instance, in many countries, many schools teaching their students in vacation period such as physically activities and some task related developing mind. Furthermore, parent who work full time so they face difficulty to supervise their children but short holiday reduce this type difficulty and parent do not varied for their childcare. As a result, children continue do their study without break throughout year.
In conclusion, although, long holiday gives so many benefits children pay time with their family members, develop their skills and also relax but sorter holiday gives several opportunities like student stay focused. Therefor, the balance holiday is better option for it.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| 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. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the argument regarding 'personal growth' is mentioned but lacks specific, concrete examples to fully support the claim. The introduction is slightly repetitive and contains grammatical errors that make the initial position statement a bit unclear. To reach a higher band, you should aim to expand your supporting points with more detailed explanations and ensure your position is clearly stated and maintained throughout the essay.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' to signal shifts in the argument. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where the logical progression is hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'As a result, after vacation time when students going to the school they feel refreshed'. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between ideas will help improve the coherence of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'good', 'benefits', and 'difficulty'. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'stable children academic performance' (should be 'stabilise') and 'parent do not varied for their childcare' (should be 'do not worry'). To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and synonyms to express your ideas more precisely and naturally.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'some believes', 'parent who work'), missing articles, and incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'have not teach'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the misuse of apostrophes in 'students'' and 'children's'. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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