Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-19
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)
Schools generally provides vacation to the students for more than two months considering as a summer holidays.
Vacations has a great impact on students, teachers and as well as the parents of the student as they all have a break for that time period in order to free their mind from the stress and work load that they carry throughout the year and also gets some time to spend with their families. Other aspects are for the climate related issues as our country has a very hot and humid climate for more than 2 months every day, a hot air is been blown in this time being, which affect our health at a greater aspect.
There are several arguments in the favour of a shorter school holidays. Students will not move in a comfort zone as in that small vacation they will be given assignments and project to complete, which will make them in touch with the academics regularly, as if the students are moved to their comfort zone that it will be difficult for them to settle in the regular routine after the vacation and will face problems to do hard work in academics.
In conclusion, I prefer to have a small holiday with proper assigning of homework and projects to the students so they can spend time with their family and friends and will be involve to academics daily. They will also not move in a comfort zone which will make them difficult to settle in the routine after the vacation.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| 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 is limited. The ideas regarding 'climate related issues' and 'comfort zones' are mentioned but lack sufficient elaboration or specific examples to fully support the arguments. The position is clear, but the overall depth of the response is somewhat superficial, which prevents it from reaching a higher band. To improve, you should expand on your points with more detailed explanations or real-world examples to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the topic.
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 somewhat mechanical and occasionally inaccurate, such as the phrase 'as if the students are moved to their comfort zone that it will be difficult'. The progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed, particularly in the transition between the benefits of holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. Improving the variety and precision of your linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would significantly enhance the flow of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'great impact', 'face problems', and 'do hard work' are functional but lack the precision and sophistication expected at higher levels. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'at a greater aspect' and 'proper assigning of homework'. To achieve a higher score, you should aim to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, and work on using words in their correct collocations to convey your ideas more naturally and precisely.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Schools generally provides', 'Vacations has'), incorrect verb forms ('a hot air is been blown'), and awkward phrasing ('will be involve to academics'). While the meaning is generally understandable, these persistent errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevent the writing from demonstrating the control required for a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tense usage will help improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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