Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-24
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 most countries, the institution (primary and secondary) remains closed for summer vacation and the period is two months or even extended time. Let's have a discussion regarding the worth of long school holidays and establish a proper arguments in case of shorter vacation.
Firstly, the value of long school holidays are much waited moments for most of the students at primary and secondary level, they plan refreshment for example: initiating the long tour involves visiting to the cities, experiencing new culture and tradition. Back then when I was at schools, I preferred to noted down the activities that I would like to do during the long vacation for example: visiting my grandpa place and staying there for a few weeks, or travel the places where I have never been to. In addition, students tend to focus on participating on the social activities like volunteering for events which helps them to connect with the society and broaden their experience levels.
However, there are some solid and valid points on why shorter period of vacation is required instead of long one. One of the core reason would be students often find it difficult to get back to their academic phases due to a significant break. For example: a five grade students who's been promoted from grade four experience it harder to understand the cirriculum of the new course outline. I have experienced the same situation this during my school times.
In contrast, the proper guidelines need to be initiated in order to make a balance vacation period rather than offering too long or too short. The students should be given some break from studies keeping in mind that after the break they would not discover them in sort of unknowing situation.
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 of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention travel and volunteering as benefits, these points are not fully extended with specific examples or deeper analysis. Similarly, the argument for shorter holidays focuses on the 'academic gap' but lacks a more nuanced discussion of potential benefits like increased productivity or reduced childcare costs. The position is clear, but the overall depth of the response is closer to a Band 6, as some ideas are under-developed and the conclusion is somewhat vague.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'In addition', 'However', and 'In contrast' to signal transitions. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Let's have a discussion regarding...' in the introduction, which is too informal for an academic task. Additionally, some sentences lack smooth flow, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the transition between the personal anecdote and the general argument in the second paragraph. Paragraphing is present but could be more effectively managed to improve the logical progression of ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and sophistication. You use some relevant terms like 'academic phases', 'curriculum', and 'volunteering', but there are also instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'initiating the long tour', 'proper arguments in case of', and 'discover them in sort of unknowing situation'. These errors occasionally hinder the clarity of your message. To reach a higher band, you should focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding informal phrasing that is not suitable for an academic essay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('the value of long school holidays are'), article misuse ('a five grade students'), and awkward phrasing ('I preferred to noted down'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of colons and commas. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on sentence construction and proofreading for basic agreement and tense consistency would be highly beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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