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)

Nowadays, In many part of the world group of individual believe that primary and secondary schools should remain close for two or more moths in summer holidays. While other argues that summer holidays should be for shorter duration. The advantages of longer and shorter holiday are discuss further with reasons and examples.

On the one hand, people believe children should get long school holiday to be more productive and relax. This is because studying for the whole year and preparing for exam can lead to frustration and child get exhausted long summer vacations can help them to be relaxed as well to spend more time with family. Nevertheless, child can focus on other productive activity rather than studies they can follow their hobbies such as by joining dancing class, swimming class and many more which can make them brilliant in other activities. Consequently, when child will go back to school they will feel more fresh and can focus more in there studies. For instance, In India children get summer holidays for 2.5 months.

On the other hand, there is an arguments in favor of shorter school holidays so the child can maintain academic progress and to remember lessons. This is largely because children can focus more on there studies they can get less time for other activities which will lead to good academic progress. Short holiday can help them to remember what they learn and to gain faster knowledge about new topics. As a result this duration will not make them lazy they don't feel tough to study after vacations. for example, students can return to school and continue their studies without needing to revise a large amount of study material.

In conclusion, Longer holiday can help them to feel relax and be productive while shorter holiday can maintain academic progress. But there should be balance between holidays a sufficient number of summer holidays should be given to children.

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. The ideas are relevant, such as the benefits of relaxation and hobbies versus the need for academic continuity. However, the development is somewhat superficial. For example, the point about 'academic progress' is repeated in slightly different ways without deep exploration of the pedagogical implications. To reach a higher band, you should provide more nuanced analysis, such as discussing the impact on teacher burnout or the socioeconomic implications of childcare during long breaks. The position is clear, but the overall development lacks the depth required for a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use basic cohesive devices like 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' to signal the structure. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as the use of 'this' or 'they' without a precise antecedent. The transition between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall progression of ideas. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat repetitive and lacks the flexibility seen in higher-band responses.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on common words like 'good', 'brilliant', and 'tough'. There are also some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'In many part of the world' (should be 'parts') and 'make them brilliant in other activities' (which sounds unnatural). While you attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'academic progress' and 're-vise', the range is limited. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'child get exhausted', 'child will go back'), missing articles, and punctuation errors (e.g., 'for example' starting with a lowercase letter). There are also run-on sentences and comma splices, such as '...for other activities which will lead to good academic progress. Short holiday can help them...'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. You need to focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy.

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

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