Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-09

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 majority of schools the primary and secondary schools has longer holidays in summer for childerens to learn a new skills or to help them encourage to participate in extra curicular activities helping them develop their cognitive and creative thinking

In schools , students get the theoritical knowledge about basic real life problem solving skills , mathemetical calculations and ethics of behaving in good manner . Other then this it is also important that students learn new skills in fields of their interest they take more part into sports , music , dance and painting which helps to grow their cognitive and creative thinking to encourage this and help them acquire such skills schools provide long summer holidays for example schools who have shorter holiday periods tend to have very less students who are interested in sports compared to students in schools who have longer holidays.

Similarly , there has been a lot of summer activities in cities which performs physical activities like games , music and dance classes to help students learn new skills and develop a creative mindset on various types of different activities during the period of summer vacations this also helps them develop their soft skills like team work, confidence , leadership and social . While on the other hand shorter school holiday doesn't give enough time to students for learning a skill and developing their social and extra curricular skills making them just an expert of one subject.

In conclusion , long school holidays are actually very important and are must to be provided for students to become more curious and competitive for sports and physical activities helping them to become stronger and active.

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 somewhat repetitive. While you mention cognitive development and extracurricular activities, the points are not fully extended with specific, concrete examples. The argument for shorter holidays is mentioned briefly in the third paragraph, but it lacks depth. To improve, ensure each main idea is supported by a clear, distinct example rather than repeating the same general concepts about sports and music. The position is clear, but the overall depth of analysis is limited, which prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the transition 'Similarly' at the start of the third paragraph does not logically connect to the previous paragraph's focus on school-provided benefits. Additionally, some sentences are run-on, such as the opening paragraph, which lacks proper punctuation to separate ideas. Improving the use of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'conversely') and ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would significantly enhance the flow and logical progression of your arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on basic terms like 'good manner', 'new skills', and 'very less'. There are also several spelling errors, such as 'childerens', 'theoritical', and 'mathemetical', which are distracting. While you attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'cognitive', 'extracurricular', and 'problem solving', the overall range is limited. To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and ensure accurate spelling of academic terms. Avoid repeating the same phrases throughout the essay.

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., 'schools has', 'holiday doesn't give'), missing articles ('in majority of schools'), and punctuation errors. The first paragraph is essentially one long, unpunctuated sentence, which makes it difficult to read. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles. Proofreading for punctuation and basic grammar will help reduce the frequency of these errors.

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