Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-10

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 holidays are the best time for the students of all ages as it gives them free time to enjoyment. They wait whole year for the summer holidays. In many countries, schools remain close for 2 or more months in a summer. However it has both advantages and disadvantages.

On the one hand, long summer holidays gives the children feeling of freedom. They do whatever they want because they don't have to follow the regular schedule of waking up early in the morning, going to school and doing home etc. For instance many students spend this time in beneficial activities such as join different clubs of cricket and foot ball to become physically active. In addition, in summer vacations, students go the different places where they explore new things and do adventures. these kind of activities make them mentally and physically strong. After a daily hectic routine students get bored of it and they need some time for refreshment. And holidays are the best ways of this.

On the other hand, a prolonged summer vacations, make them idle. They waste their time on social media and completely ignore studies. It causes negative effect on the education. They totally forget the punctuality and time management. For example, many students completely ignore their studies and when they go back to school after a lengthy break they remember nothing. Moreover, thee teachers have to start from the beginning to make the memorize again all the topics.

In my opinion, summer break shouldn't be lengthy as it makes students dull and lazy. A break is necessary but it should be for 1 month only. So students remain attach to their studies. Otherwise It is hard for educators to put the students on track again.

In conclusion, Although Extended summer holidays have positive effect on students mental and physical health, it still causes many detrimental effects also. A balance should be maintained so everything runs smoothly over the year.

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, and the ideas are relevant. However, the development is somewhat basic. For instance, the argument about students forgetting material is a strong point, but it could be further supported with more specific examples or a deeper explanation of the long-term academic impact. The conclusion is a bit repetitive, restating points already made rather than synthesizing them. To reach a higher band, ensure that each supporting point is fully explored with more depth and nuance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand', 'In addition', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. For example, the use of 'For instance' and 'For example' is appropriate, but the flow between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, though some sentences are slightly disjointed. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical, but the use of cohesive devices could be more varied and sophisticated to improve the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'detrimental' and 'prolonged', which is positive. However, there are several word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'gives the children feeling of freedom' (should be 'a feeling') and 'make the memorize again' (should be 'help them memorize'). Spelling errors like 'thee' instead of 'the' also occur. To improve, the student should focus on learning collocations and refining their use of articles and word forms to ensure more precise expression.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('long summer holidays gives', 'vacations, make them') and article usage ('in a summer', 'do the different places'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some unnecessary commas and missing articles. While the student attempts complex sentences, these often contain errors that slightly impede the flow. To improve, the student should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, specifically subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, which are recurring issues throughout the text.

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

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