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)

without any doubt, society is divided into two groups as per the distict mindset of different people. Therefore this has become an debatable issue whether summer holidays more than two months are beneficial for students or going back to school after short breaks contribute in their studies more. This essay will not only shed lights on both the perception but also my point of view will be elaborated in the conclusion.

To commence with firstnotion. There are myriad things to be shared in its favour. However, Longer summer breaks help scholars to feel relief from their daily stressful routine and enjoy. Although schooling is prominent yet learing new activities like painting, dancing, swimming etc are also important for children's growth. To cite an example, minors join short term vocational in their holidays and learn new skills. As a result, they acquire new techniques and make good use of their break time.

Moving toward the second argument of this debate. The first point of this issue is that, numerous children always play in their break rather than doing something useful and they ruined their entire holidays. Additionally, parents are tired all day because kids become lazy and stubborn for doing their holiday homework. For instance, most youngsters waste their entire holidays by watching television and by playing video games. Consequently, guardians want shorter vacations so that their children will be occupied in studies.

In my opinion, scholars make better use of their summer breaks in terms of learing new skills because other things are also significant than studies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both parts of the prompt: the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. However, the development is somewhat limited. While you mention benefits like learning new skills and the drawbacks of laziness, the ideas are not fully extended. For instance, the argument regarding parents' frustration is mentioned but lacks a deeper analysis of the societal or educational implications. Your position is clear, but the conclusion is very brief and does not effectively synthesize the arguments presented in the body paragraphs. To reach a higher band, ensure each point is supported by more detailed explanation or evidence.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'To commence with', 'Moving toward', and 'Consequently'. However, some transitions feel mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'The first point of this issue is that'. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear; for example, in the second paragraph, 'firstnotion' is not a standard phrase. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the flow between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall coherence of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'vocational', 'significant', and 'guardians'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'distict mindset', 'shed lights on', and 'ruined their entire holidays'. Some vocabulary is used repetitively, and there is a lack of more sophisticated or precise academic terminology. To improve, focus on learning collocations—words that naturally go together—and avoid translating phrases directly from your native language, as this often leads to unnatural phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the' vs 'a'), subject-verb agreement, and word forms (e.g., 'learing' instead of 'learning', 'an debatable' instead of 'a debatable'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors in sentence construction that occasionally make the text harder to follow. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and ensure that your complex sentences are constructed correctly without missing auxiliary verbs or prepositions.

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

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