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 school are closed for two months or more. Long holidays have both good and bad points. In my opinion, long holidays are good for students learning and health, short holidays are also beneficial for study and parents.

First, long holidays are good for students' health, learning process and for their rest because students would feel tired when they are going to school on daily basis after that they did not focus properly on their studies because he wants relaxation and searching for peace. In summer holidays they will going to trip with their families and friends and play anything for whole day like cricket, football, video games and etc. For example, my friend Ali get tired after their exams. In that holiday's he will going to village with their family for feeling fresh, happy and pleasant. He will enjoy everything on that place those he wants.

Second, some people support short holidays because their big tension and stress is the loss of lesson that their Childs already know, after long term holidays students will forgetting their old lessons and teachers will be repeating their previous lessons that the students had already know. For example, Hussain is the topper student of our class, he was forgetting all the Math's formula after the long-term vacations. Due to this both of the people had hunted with stress the students or the teachers because the time of both is wasted.

In conclusion, long holidays are good for students' health and learning process. On the other hand, short holidays are also beneficial for study, so the best solution is schools are closed for only one month during the year, so the study of the students is not harmed and also, they will get good rest.

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 of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the explanation of why students forget lessons is repetitive, and the examples provided (Ali and Hussain) are anecdotal and lack depth. While a position is clear, the arguments could be more thoroughly extended to reach a higher band. The conclusion introduces a new suggestion (one-month holidays) which was not part of the initial analysis, making the structure slightly unbalanced. To improve, focus on providing more analytical depth rather than simple personal anecdotes.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive. Phrases like 'First' and 'Second' are used, but the transition between sentences within paragraphs is sometimes abrupt. For example, the shift from discussing students' health to the specific example of 'Ali' lacks a smooth logical connector. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the use of 'both of the people' in the second body paragraph, which makes the sentence structure confusing. Improving the variety and precision of linking words would enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There is a reliance on basic terms like 'good', 'bad', and 'things'. Some word choices are inaccurate, such as 'hunted with stress' (likely meant 'burdened' or 'affected') and 'topper student'. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated collocations or topic-specific vocabulary limits the score. To improve, try to incorporate more academic vocabulary related to education and cognitive development, and focus on using words in their correct collocations.

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 readability. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('my friend Ali get tired'), tense inconsistency ('he will going to'), and incorrect article usage. There are also errors with pluralisation and possessive forms, such as 'their Childs' instead of 'their children'. While the message is understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from being considered error-free. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb agreement would significantly improve the clarity of your writing.

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