Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-02

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)

Holidays provides a refreshing experience to individuals. The primary and secondary schools are closed for two months for summer vacation in several nation. This essay will intend to discuss the possible reasons in enumerated paragraphs.

To commence with, there are plethora of factor of the long summer holidays. Initially, long summer holidays allow children to explore new things. This is mainly because when children have enough time to do various activities and can go on trips to get expose to the world. For example, they can visit hill station to spent some time with nature and try different local food. Moreover, kids can also participate in other courses of their interest and learn other practical skills such as new games, cooking and other household chores. Therefore, they can develop extra practical skill and learn new activities.

On the flip side, there are also some drawbacks of long summer vacations. First and foremost, long holidays can reduce the interest in studies of kids. the key reason is that in vacation they may less interact with their studies as a result they may forget some of the important lessons. Furthermore, child also waste a lots of time in playing video games and with their friends. However, short vacations have many benefits because they allow children to do other activities with maintaining their interest in academic.

In conclusion, there are both positive and negative reasons of long holidays. Because in that time learns can learn various activities, whereas average number of holidays can be more helpful in development of kids.

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 limited. While you mention benefits like exploring new things and drawbacks like academic regression, the ideas are not fully extended with sufficient depth or specific examples. For instance, the example of visiting a 'hill station' is a bit generic. To reach a higher band, you should provide more detailed explanations or real-world examples to support your arguments. The position is clear, but the overall development remains superficial, which is characteristic of a Band 5.5 or 6.0 response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices like 'To commence with', 'Moreover', and 'On the flip side' to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly unnatural. Additionally, there are instances where the flow between sentences is a bit disjointed, such as in the conclusion, which feels abrupt and lacks a strong summary of the main points. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'academic', 'practical skills', and 'vacation'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'enumerated paragraphs', 'get expose to the world', and 'average number of holidays'. These errors occasionally make the text feel less natural. To improve, focus on learning collocations (words that naturally go together) and using more precise vocabulary to express your ideas, rather than relying on basic or slightly misused phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt to use complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Holidays provides', 'child also waste'), article usage ('in vacation'), and prepositional errors ('interact with their studies'). These errors are noticeable and occur throughout the response, although they rarely prevent the reader from understanding your message. To achieve a higher band, you need to focus on consistent accuracy in basic grammar, particularly subject-verb agreement and pluralisation, while continuing to practice more complex sentence forms.

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

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