Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-31

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)

Long summer holidays in primary and secondary schools offer different opportunities, however there is even a negative impact on students.

The primary advantage is children get sufficient amount of break for personality development. These holidays would help students to get rid of stress which they are facing throughout the year.

This many help student to get some physical activities for maintaining health in good condition, even they can travel to explore different cultures and enjoying with family by spending some quality of time them . Through these activities they may gain life lessons. Such experiences enhance the independence on parents , Furthermore for teachers can get some period of time to spend with there children and may improve their teaching standards according to the students.

Contrastingly , these long term holidays leads to some disadvantages , whereas the shorter holidays does not . It is better to give short holidays the schools throughout the year rather than giving large break because it leads to memory lose of students. These extended holidays gives rise to financial challenges . Students may not feel to go to schools after long term breaks. There is even disadvantage with giving short term holidays such as students may not get involved in extracurriculam activities and they do not get sufficient amount of time to spend or travel with the families they get lose of emotional bonds.

In conclusion , I recommend schools to give long term holidays by giving some work where they can atleast remember the basics rather than giving holidays throughout the year .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the point about 'personality development' is mentioned but not clearly explained or supported with specific examples. The conclusion introduces a new idea (giving work during holidays) which contradicts the earlier discussion about the benefits of a break. The position is generally clear, but the arguments lack the depth required for a higher band score. To improve, ensure each main idea is supported by a clear explanation or a concrete example.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical flow is frequently disrupted by awkward phrasing and mechanical transitions. While cohesive devices like 'Furthermore' and 'Contrastingly' are used, they are sometimes placed incorrectly or do not accurately reflect the relationship between ideas. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'enjoying with family by spending some quality of time them'. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs lacks a strong, unified focus, making the progression of ideas feel somewhat disjointed at times.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher score. There are several instances of awkward word choices and incorrect collocations, such as 'memory lose' (should be 'memory loss'), 'get rid of stress' (informal), and 'get involved in extracurriculam activities'. The range is limited, and the student relies on basic phrasing to express complex ideas. To improve, focus on learning topic-specific collocations and ensure that words are used in their correct grammatical form.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('these long term holidays leads'), incorrect preposition usage, and awkward sentence construction ('This many help student to get some physical activities'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the placement of commas. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and article usage would be beneficial.

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

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