Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 some countries, the primary and secondary schools close in summer holidays for two months or more.

firstly, the value of long school holidays that students can rest for two months in 12 months of schooling. They have been tired mentally by following the same schedule over the year because they have no time to play sports or any other activity and did not have chance to visit other country with his families. For example, some students feel exhausted to follow the same routine over the years and not be able to concentrate on his studies. Hence the value of long school holidays have several benifits to avoid the students from the stress situation.

Secondly, the arguments in favour of shorter school holidays , where students focus on studies over the year to achive highest grades. Furthermore, they can study with busy routine and not to be bored while studying and they can improved the skills they teach in school and did not be distracted with playing sports rather than studying. So students who have less holidays can gain the highest grades at school to achive his future goals.

In conclusion, the students should spent two months or more at home to relax and fresh his minds after going to school about 10 months over the year. Whereas, shorter holidays also could benifit the students whose they want a bright future and want to study in best reputation colleges in the world. Therefore the contrast are there but student should preferred holidays to relax the mind and go for vecutions with family.

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. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you provide reasons for both sides, the supporting arguments are repetitive and lack specific, well-developed examples. For instance, the mention of 'visiting other countries' is a good start, but it is not expanded upon to show how this specifically contributes to a student's development. The position is clear, but the overall depth of the argument remains at a basic level, which prevents it from reaching a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use basic cohesive devices like 'firstly', 'secondly', and 'in conclusion' to signal the progression of your argument. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where the flow between sentences is disjointed. For example, the transition in the second paragraph is slightly abrupt. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the use of 'they' and 'his' when referring to students in general, which creates some confusion regarding the subject of the sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms and there are several instances of word-choice errors and spelling mistakes, such as 'benifits', 'achive', 'vecutions', and 'fresh his minds'. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety and the recurring spelling errors limit the score. To improve, you should focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring correct spelling of common words.

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 the flow of reading. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the value... have several benifits'), incorrect pronoun usage (e.g., 'his families' instead of 'their families'), and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'whose they want a bright future'). While you attempt complex sentences, they are often faulty. The frequency of these errors suggests that you need to focus on basic grammatical accuracy and proofreading to ensure your sentences are error-free.

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

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