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 primary and secondary schools, summer holidays remain for 2 months or more in most of the countries all over the world. Even in some countries, the whether is not too hot, for this long break. Everyone believe that, the summer holidays are the ultimate reason of granting leisure to educational system as the students and the other school staff need rest.

Regarding the value of long school holidays, I believe that closure of schools for this very long period is not an option that government should going with. Although, the break for fresh up mind of students is essential but the duration should be minimized. This long period of leaves could have negative impacts on students learning and focus. Moreover the teachers and other staff could loss their punctuality.

I strongly agree that the duration of these holidays should be mitigate. Because the education is the backbone of every nation. If we neglect the necessity of knowledge, there will be a harmful consequences on the society. in addition, I believe that, during the holidays the teachers should be supposed to attend workshops. They must gain valuable experiences and skill through different trainings. However, the students should also given with practical homework. The teachers should assign the certain things that are discussable in class.

In conclusion, summer break has some importance but it should be spend for valuable purpose. The duration should be short but. The teachers should work on their teaching techniques. The government should provide teachers with practical work training to enhance their knowledge. The government should make them able to precisely transfer books knowledge to students.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the value of long holidays and arguments for shortening them. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention that long breaks impact learning and punctuality, these points are not fully extended with specific examples or logical depth. The position is clear, but the argument lacks a sophisticated exploration of the trade-offs between student well-being and academic continuity. To improve, ensure that each main idea is supported by a clear explanation and a concrete example, rather than just stating the point.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'In addition', and 'However'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as starting a sentence with 'Because' to introduce a main clause. Additionally, some transitions between sentences feel abrupt. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the relationship between sentences is more fluid and natural.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic phrasing, such as 'ultimate reason' or 'certain things'. There are also some word-choice errors, such as 'whether' instead of 'weather', 'loss' instead of 'lose', and 'mitigate' used incorrectly in context. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated collocations and the presence of spelling errors limit the score. Expanding your vocabulary to include more academic collocations would significantly improve your writing.

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. Examples include 'Everyone believe that' (subject-verb agreement), 'government should going with' (incorrect verb form), and 'students should also given with' (passive voice error). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tense usage to improve accuracy.

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

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