Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-29

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 all over the world summer holidays are there for the students for a break for the students. It is very necessary to give students a break from studies. So that they can also give attention on their other skill for development and creativity. In India, the summer holidays are usually in the ending of May and in full month of June. Because in there months the temperature is on its top. In these holidays children visits the tourist places with their parents and family to explore many things. By which they learn many things from there.

Long holidays are far better than the shorter ones as students have to do their holiday homework also, which is given by their schools and it is in very large quantity sometimes and it take so much time to complete it. From that their holidays can be ruined. Summer camps are also organised by the schools for the students skill development. Most of the scholars goes to hill station in vacations to resonate their energy.

Everything have its pros and cons. Like that long holidays have also its cons. When the pupil had many days for vacations, they became very lazy when schools get started. By which students take time to get up early. Their schedule also got ruined. Some students are not much intelligent, they only studies at school and not at home. If the holidays are much more they will forgot everything which they have study before.

On this, my opinion is on the favour of long holidays and do summer camps for the children to do so much activities by which they could not get bore and and also enjoys their break.

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 is inconsistent. While you mention benefits like skill development and family time, the arguments for shorter holidays are somewhat repetitive and rely on generalizations, such as students becoming 'lazy' or 'forgetting everything'. The position is clear, but the ideas lack the depth and academic support required for a higher band. To improve, ensure each point is fully extended with specific examples or logical reasoning rather than just stating the point.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which is a positive step. However, the progression of ideas is often disjointed. The use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes mechanical or misused, such as 'In all over the world' or 'On this, my opinion is on the favour of'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the transition between the benefits of long holidays and the drawbacks is abrupt. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'conversely', 'consequently') to create a smoother flow between sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range expected at higher levels. There is frequent repetition of basic words like 'things', 'students', and 'holidays'. Some word choices are unnatural or incorrect, such as 'resonate their energy' (likely meaning 'recharge') and 'not much intelligent'. There are also minor errors in word formation and collocation. To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to education and child development, and focus on using synonyms to avoid repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but accuracy is a significant issue. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'Most of the scholars goes', 'Everything have its pros'), article usage, and tense consistency (e.g., 'they will forgot everything which they have study'). These errors are frequent and occasionally make the reader work harder to understand the intended meaning. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tenses, before attempting more complex structures.

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

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