Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-12

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)

It is often argued that two month or more summer vacations are beneficial or not for students of schools in large number of countries. long holidays help to create strong bonding with their siblings, grandparents and help to involve in physical activities.

On the one hand, in long holidays students spend more time with their family which help them to create strong relation with family members. Mostly students in throughout years busy in their school routine they do not visit their other family members like grandparents and cousins but in holidays they have chance to visit them. For instance, in Pakistan mostly child spend their summer holidays in their relatives where they spend time with cousins where the love grow between them. In addition, most of the students lives in hostels for their education they spend very less time with family during school routine but in vacations they stay long term in their homes and spend time with their sibling which create strong bonding between them. Further more in long holidays mostly students starting their daily routine with physical activities like playing games with friends because during opening of schools they do not have time for such activities due to strict time tables of education institutions.

On the other hand, long holidays affect the student education in vacations many of students spend time on other activities and they forget their study which affect their grades so, if duration of holidays decline then the students give more time to their subjects.

Moreover, in shorter school holidays students spend less time on screen because this era watching screen is most come activity in world so, the students with less holidays give less time to such things and move back to their study with fresh mind.

To conclude, long holidays gives health environment to students and create strong bonding with their loved once. while, short

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 uneven. The first body paragraph provides relevant examples, such as the cultural context in Pakistan, which supports the argument well. The second body paragraph regarding shorter holidays is less developed and relies on generalisations about 'screen time' and 'forgetting studies' without providing specific examples or deeper analysis. The conclusion is incomplete, as it cuts off mid-sentence, which prevents a clear summary of the position. To reach a higher band, ensure that all arguments are fully extended and that the essay is brought to a complete, coherent conclusion.

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 inaccurate. For example, 'Further more' and 'Mostly students in throughout years' create awkward transitions. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as 'in their relatives' (should be 'with their relatives'). The abrupt ending of the essay significantly impacts the overall coherence, as the final thought is left unfinished. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words more naturally and ensure that each paragraph has a clear, logical progression that leads to a finished conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choices and collocations, such as 'long term in their homes' instead of 'extended periods', and 'health environment' instead of 'healthy environment'. The phrase 'watching screen is most come activity' is also non-standard. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated vocabulary and the presence of errors in word formation and collocation limit the score. Expanding your range to include more academic collocations and synonyms would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While there are attempts at complex sentences, they are often marred by grammatical errors, such as 'Mostly students in throughout years busy in their school routine they do not visit...' which lacks a main verb and proper structure. There are frequent errors in article usage, subject-verb agreement, and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'in their relatives'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma placement. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and reducing the frequency of errors in tense and word order, which currently impede the flow of the writing.

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

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