Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-15

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)

During summer holidays, all primary and secondary schools stay close for two months or more and this practice has been followed by a lot of nations. Holidays can have both merits and demerits for it long or short duration. let us discuss the role of long or short holiday on child's life.

Long holidays usually starts around April to June which is peak summer time. Such holiday plays an important role in child's overall happiness as they look forward to it through out the year because many family plans vacation and that can be real good for the children. They get a long break from homework or any stress related to studies for around 2 months. Even from a teacher's perspective, the holidays give them the time spend with their families and loved ones.

But, when we shred some light on the aspect of having shorter holidays, there are lot of positive side to it as well like schools can cut short the holidays and start organize some summer camps in schools which can engage the children mind to do creative things or involve in some cultural activities like singing, dancing, panting or any other type of crafting. Shorter leaves also indirectly create opportunity for student to stay connected with their studies as 2 months of holidays can be a long duration. For example, when i was in my 10th standard in St. Paul's schools in my hometown in India, they use to organize a lot of summer camps and day-boarding for us to stay occupied with both studies as well as cultural events.

In conclusion, i can say that both longer or shorter holidays has it own pros and cons and we must understand that having neither of this can be look upon a unbalanced situation.

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. The ideas are relevant, such as family time and creative development through summer camps. However, the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the discussion on the benefits of shorter holidays could be expanded with more depth regarding academic retention or parental convenience. The position is clear, but the conclusion is slightly vague, as it does not explicitly state a preference or a balanced synthesis, merely noting that both have pros and cons. Overall, it meets the requirements but lacks the depth expected for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a basic progression of ideas from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'and' to connect clauses. Referencing is generally clear, but some transitions between sentences feel abrupt. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to better connect the arguments within and between paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'creative things', 'cultural activities', and 'day-boarding'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'shred some light' (should be 'shed some light') and 'neither of this can be look upon a unbalanced situation'. The range is sufficient for the task, but the student relies on relatively simple vocabulary and lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('holidays usually starts', 'both longer or shorter holidays has it own pros') and article usage. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some missing commas and capitalization errors (e.g., 'i' instead of 'I'). These errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text, although they do not significantly impede communication. To improve, the student should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and refining complex sentence structures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.