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 most countries summer holidays are of two months or even more then two, for primary and secondary schools. In this essay, i am going to tell what is the value of long school holidays and i am also going to tell what are the arguments for the shorter holidays.
In my childhood days i used to get so excited for my summer vacation, Just imaging my self for not waking up early in the morning used to make me excited. Plus i would get to watch all my favourite cartoons. The importance of longer holidays is benefit for a child. For example they get to spend more time with their parents, hang around for the longer period of time with friends, more over its important for a child brain to get relax from all the studies, so they can go to different kind of activity. More over in there are high changes of heatwaves which are extremely dangers for the kids and in most schools Ac is not available in the classes, so it better for them to stay at home during the heat waves.
The demand of shorter school summer vacations mostly comes from mother. As they get so tried handling their child that it makes them frustrated, and they don't even get time for them selfs, due to which they mostly demand for shorter holidays.
In the end, school holidays should remain longer as the are just for two or three maximum. So it makes a child relax and happy since they are just going to school throughout the whole year.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the value of long holidays and arguments for shorter ones. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument regarding heatwaves is a valid point, but it is not fully explored in an academic context. The section on mothers' frustration is a bit anecdotal and lacks the depth expected for a formal essay. To improve, you should aim to provide more balanced, objective arguments and ensure that each point is supported with clear reasoning or examples that go beyond personal experience.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'More over' is used twice, with spelling errors). The transition between ideas is sometimes abrupt, and the logical flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence. Referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression of ideas feels a bit disjointed at times.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of word-choice errors and informal phrasing, such as 'hang around' and 'get relax'. Spelling errors like 'dangers' instead of 'dangerous' and 'tried' instead of 'tired' also detract from the quality of the writing. To achieve a higher score, you should focus on using more academic collocations and ensuring that your word choices are appropriate for a formal essay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While there are some attempts at complex sentences, they often contain grammatical errors, such as 'the importance of longer holidays is benefit for a child' (should be 'beneficial') and 'in there are high changes of heatwaves' (should be 'there is a high chance'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and capitalisation. Frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and word forms occasionally impede the flow of the text.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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