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)

In many countries, a big summer break is held by the primary and high schools which lasts for two months or more. People often argue about shortening the holiday time and have many reasons for justifying their opinion. Indeed there is a value of long school holidays but some factors decrease its importance.

Firstly, it is quiet necessary for students to have a summer break and get the relief from academic pressure for some time. In this break, they can take part in activities they find interesting of helpful. It gives them a realization of a factor that how important it is to live life with ease and comfort. For example, throughout the year, a student faces many difficulties related to studies. A genuine stress is filled around them by the time of their exams and when that time passes, a sense of relaxation covers his mind which makes him feel relieved. It happens with me a lot. When my exams are over, I feel joyful by knowing that is no pressure on me regarding studies for some time. In my opinion, it a right of every student to enjoy summer holidays in which he can do whatever he wants.

On the other hand, There are many people who are in favour of shorter school holidays. Majority of them are parents and small group of students. Their motive is clear and arguable. Parents find difficulties in handling their child throughout the summer break. Children start to follow a bad routine and a spend their most of the time in mobile phones or digital devices. Parents feel unpleasant watching their child following such bad habits and they could not indulge them in studies again. I also have experienced these things happening in my own home. My younger sister had a summer holiday from her elementary school which she used in watching her tablet and television all the time. My mother got really worried for her as my sister was having an insufficient screen time and was making bad impact on her health.

In conclusion, an action should be taken by schools by giving students different plans. These plans should keep them busy in different activities including sports, swimming and other.

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. You have a clear position, and the ideas are relevant. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While the personal examples provide some support, they are anecdotal and could be more effectively linked to broader societal or educational arguments to reach a higher band. The conclusion is a bit abrupt and does not fully summarize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs. To improve, ensure that your arguments are balanced and that your conclusion provides a comprehensive summary of your position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' to signal shifts in your writing. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is slightly unclear, such as in the sentence 'It happens with me a lot.' Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the logical progression of your ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your meaning, but it is somewhat basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'big summer break' and 'bad routine' are functional but lack the precision expected at higher bands. There are also some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'quiet necessary' (should be 'quite') and 'insufficient screen time' (which is used in a context where 'excessive' would be more accurate). To improve, try to incorporate more academic collocations and precise terminology related to education and child development.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'a big summer break is held by the primary and high schools' (passive voice usage is slightly awkward here), 'a sense of relaxation covers his mind', and 'a spend their most of the time'. Punctuation and article usage also need attention. To reach a higher band, focus on reducing these recurring errors and increasing the variety of complex sentence structures, ensuring that your subject-verb agreement and article usage are more consistent.

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

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