Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-11

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, schools and colleges provide summer holidays of two months or more. Many parents and teachers argue that this period is to much long and summer holidays should be shortened. The main reason for this argue is that students to do not pay attention on their studies during the long-term vacations. In this essay, we will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of long school holidays.

Many primary and secondary schools throughout the world give long holidays to the students because of several reasons. The first main reason is to protect the young generation from harmful ultra-voilet radiations of Sun which can cause skin cancer and sometimes it becomes life threatening. For example, many people dies every year due to heat stroke all over the world. The other reason for long summer vacations is that it could be beneficial to students because in free time they can learn different activities and online skills such as, marketing, graphic designing and MS World etc. When a student become expert of specific skill, he can secure his future because he can earn easily by using his skill.

On the other hand, there are also some major drawbacks of long vacations from which some parents and teachers are against these two month vacations. Many parents think that their child will be spoiled and become lazy in the future as procrastination is a very bad habit and it greatly affects the future of a child. When students do not study for a long period, ultimately they lose their interest in studies and can adopt harmful habits if they spend time in the company of bad people. For example, One of my cousins is strongly addicted to smoking because of his bad friends.

In my opinion, parents and teachers should cooperate with each other in summer vacations and keep an eye on the child. Parents should heir a home tutor for their child so, he continue his studies during the long holidays. Children should also be taught about good and bad habits so, that they mentally become enough strong to distinguish between their benefits and downsides.

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 shortening them. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The point about UV radiation is a bit unusual and lacks a strong connection to the educational purpose of school holidays. The second point regarding skill acquisition is more relevant. The arguments for shortening holidays are clearer, focusing on academic regression and behavioral concerns. To reach a higher band, you should ensure that all arguments are directly linked to the educational context and provide more balanced, logical development for each point.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'The first main reason', 'On the other hand', and 'In my opinion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For instance, the transition from the health argument to the skill-learning argument is abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as the use of 'from which' in the third paragraph, which does not accurately connect to the preceding clause.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including terms like 'procrastination', 'distinguish', and 'cooperate'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and minor errors, such as 'too much long' instead of 'too long', 'argue' used as a noun instead of 'argument', and 'heir' instead of 'hire'. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over collocations and word forms to move into the higher band range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, they often contain grammatical errors, such as 'When a student become expert' (should be 'becomes an expert') and 'he continue his studies' (should be 'he can continue'). There are also frequent errors with articles and subject-verb agreement, such as 'radiations of Sun' and 'many people dies'. These errors are noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding your main points. Increasing your focus on proofreading for basic agreement and article usage would significantly improve your score.

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

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