Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
Long school holidays are important for students in primary and secondary because it's give them a huge amount of time to explore and learn new things above their academics syllabus. where they can go for a holiday in some new places and also they can improve their skills along with a online course.But as a student they enjoyed very much in travel to some places so they choose vacation mostly which makes memorable their life.
As I was a student I enjoyed all of these and every summer holidays have their different stories also so as I learned such things as well as enjoyed.
In the favour of shorter school holidays the general arguments are arise eg.- the student get habituate to escape from his daily school routine, they can't memorise lessons after a long period of holiday and their mind get distracted as the modern students are used to use too much phones for these such reasons some school preferred shorter holidays even in my school the holidays were shorter than the other schools for these such reasons and I used to felt guilty when I saw other where they enjoying their holidays and I had to go to school.
There are also some other reasons to shorter holiday in school such as some schools have a short academic period in order to have some sports and other events events in that case those schools have to short their summer holidays and this reasons are totally justified for the institutions and schools.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. However, the development of ideas is limited. The points regarding 'exploring new things' and 'academic pressure' are mentioned but lack depth or specific examples to fully support the arguments. The inclusion of personal anecdotes ('As I was a student...') is relevant but takes up space that could have been used for more analytical discussion. The position is clear, but the overall development is somewhat superficial, which is characteristic of a Band 5 response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay is divided into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the flow between sentences is often disjointed. The use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes mechanical or misused (e.g., 'for these such reasons'). Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the transition between the benefits of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones is abrupt. While there is an overall attempt at logical organization, the lack of sophisticated linking words and the repetitive nature of some transitions hinder the progression of ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is basic and often repetitive. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and incorrect word choices, such as 'above their academics syllabus' instead of 'beyond their academic curriculum' and 'arguments are arise' instead of 'arguments arise'. The student struggles with collocations, for example, 'get habituate' instead of 'become accustomed'. While the meaning is generally conveyed, the range is limited, and the errors in word formation and collocation are noticeable throughout the text, which restricts the score to Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures, and attempts at complex sentences are frequently marred by grammatical errors. There are consistent issues with subject-verb agreement ('it's give them', 'student get habituate'), tense usage ('I used to felt'), and punctuation. The frequent errors in basic grammar, such as missing articles and incorrect verb forms, cause some difficulty for the reader and indicate a lack of control over complex structures. The sentence construction is often fragmented, which prevents the writing from reaching a higher band level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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