Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 contemporary society, the closure of primary and secondary schools for a couple of months or more in the summer holidays has become a widely discussed issue due to its growing influence on different areas of life and society. While some believe that the extended school holidays play a vital role, others think that short school holidays pave the way for an academic success. This essay will explain both views with some reasons and multiple examples.

One of the main reasons behind longer school holidays is that the learners acquire more time to unwind after coping with an immense pressure of their academics. In other words, the mental and physical health is also an essential element for students owing to its progressive effects. For instance, children get considerable days to spend time with their family and companions. Consequently, the longer school holidays contribute to achieve higher grades at school after getting adequate months to relax.

On the other hand, some people believe that short school holidays assist every learner to maintain discipline. For example, proper and balanced lifestyle of school children result in better educational outcomes. Furthermore, reduced school holidays help young children in maintaining consistency by completing their educational and other personal tasks with dedication and responsibility, As a result, short school holidays bring beneficial impacts in the lives of numerous learners.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that both the shorter and longer school holidays bring several significant impacts on many students such as behavioural, mental, and educational. However, the primary and secondary schools must extend summer holidays for students to receive better outcomes from their school children.

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 these ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument for shorter holidays mentions 'maintaining discipline' and 'consistency' but fails to explain how or why this occurs in a concrete way. The conclusion introduces a personal opinion that contradicts the balanced approach taken in the body paragraphs, which weakens the overall task response. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific examples or logical explanations for your claims rather than relying on general statements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. Cohesive devices such as 'In other words', 'For instance', 'On the other hand', and 'Furthermore' are used to link ideas. However, the transition between the body paragraphs and the conclusion is slightly abrupt. Additionally, there is a minor punctuation error in the third paragraph ('responsibility, As a result'), which affects the flow. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task, though the use of cohesive devices could be more varied and sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'contemporary society', 'academic success', and 'progressive effects'. There are some minor issues with collocation and word choice, such as 'coping with an immense pressure' (should be 'coping with immense pressure') and 'get considerable days' (should be 'have a considerable amount of time'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Expanding your range to include more topic-specific collocations would improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies. For example, 'the mental and physical health is also an essential element' (should be 'mental and physical health are essential elements') and 'result in better educational outcomes' (should be 'results in'). There is also a comma splice in the third paragraph. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and punctuation will help improve your accuracy.

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

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