Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-14

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, schools closed for long duration or more in the summer vacation. While long holidays can provide more benefits for students with valuable opportunities. This essay will discuss both views and argue that a moderately long holidays is more beneficial.

One major advantage of long school holidays is that they allow students to recover from academic pressure. During the school year, children often have to attend classes, complete assignments and prepare for examinations, which can lead mental pressure. A lengthy break gives them enough time to relax and motivated. Furthermore, students can use this period to develop skills outside the classrooms. For example, they may travel with their family and friends, participate in sports or learn new activities such as dancing, swimming or music.

On other hand, shorter holidays can help students to maintain their academic progress, completely reduce the summer break would not be ideal. Children need sufficient time to rest, spend time with their family and pursue interests outside schools. Therefore, a balanced holidays that provides adequate relaxation without causing a significant loss of academic knowledge would be the best way.

In conclusion, long holidays offer important benefits in terms of rest, family time and personal development, whereas shorter breaks can improve academic continuity and reduce childcare difficulties. A balanced approach would allow students to learn reasonable skills and maintain amount of feee time for their educational progress.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. However, the essay is under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of development. While the ideas are relevant, they are somewhat brief and lack detailed examples or further elaboration. The position is clear, but the under-length nature of the response prevents a higher score as the arguments are not fully extended. To improve, you should aim to expand on your points with more specific real-world examples or deeper analysis of the implications of each viewpoint.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'On other hand', and 'In conclusion' to link your points. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or grammatically awkward, such as 'On other hand' (missing 'the'). The paragraphing is appropriate, but the overall flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing between sentences is more precise to enhance the cohesion of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'academic pressure', 'academic progress', and 'personal development'. However, there are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'maintain amount of feee time' (should be 'a certain amount of free time') and 'completely reduce' (should be 'completely eliminating'). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary and ensure that your collocations are natural and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'schools closed' (should be 'schools close'), 'a moderately long holidays' (should be 'a moderately long holiday'), and 'lead mental pressure' (should be 'lead to mental pressure'). These errors do not significantly impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles and prepositions to improve your accuracy.

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

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