Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-17
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)
A long summer holidays comes with so much of expectation for both parents and children as well, it has it's own merits, while some people argue that, I largely agree with a statement that 2 months of holiday should be there, the followimh eassy will discuss the same.
One the one hand, Summer vacation brings so much of happiness, plans, and expectation to students who are studying in primary or secondary school. also they get a little break from their academics during this time,
they could have quality to spent with their Family members and friends. during this time thier energy is on peak level, they usually prefer to play out door games which also benefitial for improvement of their health and phicique. also some parents take an admission for their child in extra curiculams such as, Football class, Musical class, and other activities according to interest of their child.
one the other hand, Some parents and teachers believe that, students forget their syllabus, during this long vacation and and they don't like to go back to the school after this long holidays, They might become little lazy due to no pressure throughout 2 months of long vacation.
Adittionally, some students face more dificulties to focus in studies after long holidays.
In conclusion, I would say there are servel ways to bring their attention back to study, as child deserve a break to pull out anxity and depression towards study, vacation helps to balance primary and secondary school's students energy, happiness, enjoyment of life and quality time with family.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
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 of ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the benefits of holidays are listed as 'happiness' and 'playing games' without deep explanation. The argument for shorter holidays mentions 'forgetting the syllabus' and 'laziness,' which are relevant but could be expanded with more sophisticated reasoning. The position is clear, but the overall depth of the argument is limited, keeping it at a Band 5.5 level as it touches on all parts but lacks the detailed support required for higher bands.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'One the one hand' and 'one the other hand' are used, but the internal flow within paragraphs is disjointed. There are issues with sentence-level cohesion, such as the run-on sentences in the second paragraph ('also they get a little break... they could have quality to spent'). The progression of ideas is present but lacks the smooth transitions expected at higher levels.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is generally basic and repetitive. There are several spelling errors, such as 'followimh,' 'eassy,' 'phicique,' 'curiculams,' 'dificulties,' and 'servel.' Word choice is often imprecise, such as 'take an admission' instead of 'enroll' or 'pull out anxity' instead of 'alleviate stress.' While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and the frequent spelling errors and awkward collocations prevent the response from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('a long summer holidays comes'), incorrect article usage, and punctuation errors (e.g., unnecessary commas and capitalization issues). The attempt at complex structures is limited and often results in errors that impede the flow, such as 'I largely agree with a statement that 2 months of holiday should be there.' The frequency of errors is high, which affects the overall readability of the text.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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