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)

It is frequently argued to shorten the school holidays, leading it to substantial debate. It is completely true that in many countries, primary and secondary schools close for two months or more in the summer holidays. Now, the question of whether shortening school holidays has more benefits over drawbacks has become a central point of discussion.

On the one hand, shortening summer breaks argue that long holidays are essential for a child's overall development. Firstly, a prolonged rest period allows students to to recover from academic pressure and stress and secondly they get the time to nurture their non-academic skills or activity. But this has few drawbacks as well.

Often after summer vacation, mid term or short-term exams come up. So, it becomes crucial to complete the syllabus for a student by studying at home as they can't go to teachers with their queries and doubts that time. Students have to be self-dependent as they needs to spend time by preparing on their own.

Teachers or Tutors rush to complete subjects or chapters within a small span of time as a result the important and crucial parts remain untouched.

Knowledge are only acquired by deep understanding but due to the long holidays there is no time to have a deep and detailed understanding. As a result, the intrinsic concept doesn't get cleared.

Though in holidays, teachers tend to give homework or tasks to accomplish at home, so holidays doesn't feel really like holidays to the students. It's like a task or precisely a burden to students and to their parents to complete it at home. Because of this fact only, often the parents decide to rely on private tutors to teach the students so that they can score well in exams.

Staying at home for a longer period of time makes a habit of being lazy and not boosting productivity. Often, after staying at home for a long period, the students specially the kids usually don't want to go to schools and tend to choose comfort over going to school.

Because of these crucial factors, I feel it's a wise step to shorten school holidays. In conclusion, while extended break periods allow students to recharge and spend time with family, the academic disruption and excessive workload make a strong case for reform. Therefore, shortening summer vacations would help maintaining continuous learning and alleviate stress for both students and parents.

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 somewhat uneven. The first body paragraph mentions the benefits of long holidays but immediately pivots to drawbacks, which creates confusion. The arguments for shorter holidays are more clearly articulated, focusing on academic continuity and the burden of holiday homework. To improve, ensure each paragraph focuses on a single, well-developed idea. The position is clear, but the transition between the benefits and the drawbacks could be more structured to ensure a balanced and logical flow.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is occasionally hindered by awkward transitions. For example, the second paragraph starts with 'On the one hand' but then introduces a contradiction within the same paragraph. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Firstly' and 'In conclusion', but some are used mechanically or incorrectly, such as 'Because of this fact only'. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs needs to be more cohesive to ensure that ideas follow one another logically without abrupt shifts in focus.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and sophistication. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice, such as 'shortening summer breaks argue' (which is grammatically incorrect as the break cannot argue) and 'intrinsic concept doesn't get cleared'. While the meaning is generally clear, the vocabulary is somewhat repetitive and relies on basic structures. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and academic terminology, such as 'academic regression' or 'curriculum coverage', rather than descriptive phrases like 'important and crucial parts remain untouched'.

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 ('as they needs to spend time'), incorrect pluralisation ('Knowledge are only acquired'), and awkward sentence construction ('leading it to substantial debate'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic agreement errors and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed with correct subordinate clauses and verb forms.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.