Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-07

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)

Summer vacationons has emerged as a highly debated issue in the contemporary epoch, sparking a considerable debate among individuals and policy makers alike. While a segment of individuals asserts that school holidays should be for two months in summer while others vehemently conted that primary and secondary schools closed for more months could offer a multitude of significant advantages. This essay aims to critically examine both perspectives.                                     Long school holidays offers a plethora of substantial benefits to students, contributing significantly in student's physical development and metal well-being. This not only enables students to unwind after demanding school routine also enhance their learning ability with hightened efficiency. Students are better able to participate in extra curricular activities during summer vacations that are not possible or may be challanging during academic year. Moreover, it facilitates students covering their missing lactures efficiently and acquiring practical skills too for future. For example, I could be better able to cover my syllabus taught in previous month before vacations in summer holidays as well as i coul acquire more time to prepare something extra for future lessons.                                                                                    On the other side, a contrasting school of thought posits that shorter school holidays are more beneficial.  Advocates of this perspective maintain that more regular classes play pivotal role in students academic perpomance. In the absence of instructional day, students may encounter substantial difficulties in learning difficult lessons and comprehending complex and unpredictable tasks .Moreover, regular school days or short vacations can offer valuable insights, lessons and  long-term development. For example, mediocre students become careless and loose more interests in studies after too long vacations. This example, clearly demonstrates that how long holidays can exert negative impact on students academic progress and intellectual development.                                                                                              In conclusion, although long school vacataions have some demerits like reducing interest in studies and become careless, but its advatanges are particularly substantial. They allow students to come school after school with refresh mind and positive energy, also enhancing their cognitive as well as physical development.

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. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat inconsistent. While the benefits of long holidays are explained, the arguments for shorter holidays are less detailed and rely on generalisations, such as the claim that 'mediocre students become careless'. The example provided for the first point is personal and slightly confusing in its phrasing ('I could be better able to cover my syllabus'). To reach a higher band, the student should provide more objective, well-developed examples that clearly illustrate the impact on student learning and development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover', 'On the other side', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is interrupted by awkward phrasing or grammatical errors, such as the repetitive use of 'students' and 'school'. The referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the conclusion where the sentence structure becomes convoluted. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some sophisticated terms like 'contemporary epoch', 'plethora', and 'pivotal role'. However, there are frequent spelling errors ('vacationons', 'conted', 'metal', 'hightened', 'lactures', 'perpomance', 'loose', 'vacataions', 'advatanges') and some awkward collocations ('come school after school'). These errors are noticeable and occasionally distract the reader, though they do not prevent the meaning from being understood. To improve, the student should focus on accuracy in spelling and ensure that vocabulary is used in natural, contextually appropriate ways.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While there is an attempt at complexity, it is often marred by grammatical inaccuracies, such as subject-verb agreement errors ('Long school holidays offers', 'holidays should be for two months... while others... conted that... schools closed') and missing articles or prepositions. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are issues with sentence boundaries and clarity. The frequency of these errors means that while the message is conveyed, the reader must work harder to interpret the intended meaning. More attention to basic grammatical rules and proofreading for slips is necessary.

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