Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-12

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 5.0)

The summer holidays in many countries as said for the primary and secondary schools closing for two months or more for some in the summer holidays is the most essential part of a student's childhood. Putting it in simpler words could be that the student who participated in the school through all of the exams, sports, extra curricular, homeworks, etc. They now require some of their time also relaxing, interacting more with their family and surroundings which they couldn't had during the school time.

The value these long school holidays provide is something, i feel personally this tenure is enough for everyone to after resume their regular schooling after a short break. Also creating a positive and exciting memories one spents during this short term break. Every student is waiting with eagerness after their exams for holidays as it must be definitely a moment of patience. Long school holidays are overall a important part of schooling and provide value to student's lives.

Any arguments in favour of shorter school holidays must be that it is better if we won't have any. Shorter school holidays meaning a more long period of schooling which might drain student's more than the usual which is inappropriate. Shorter school holidays allows teachers to thoroughly teach students providing more time. Also for completing their syllabus they could have much more lectures than before due to shorter school holidays.

Few reasons for my answer in short would be that as i am in complete favour of longer school holidays, I provided my statements in positiveness of it. My example of this would be even personally me had a great time during my summer holidays. I feel those were the golden period of my life, where i had no stress and pressure just freedom and enjoyment in that tenure.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to address both parts of the prompt regarding the value of long school holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. However, the development of ideas is limited and at times unclear. For instance, the discussion on shorter holidays is somewhat contradictory, stating that shorter holidays mean more lecturing to complete the syllabus, but also mentioning that a lack of holidays might drain students. While a position is discernible, the arguments remain under-developed and rely heavily on personal anecdote in the final paragraph rather than broader discussion. This places the response comfortably at Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into four distinct paragraphs, but the overall progression of ideas is frequently disrupted by awkward phrasing and limited cohesive devices. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the sentence 'Putting it in simpler words could be that the student who participated... They now require...', where pronoun referencing and sentence boundary mechanics fail. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal logical transitions between sentences are often missing or mechanical, leading to a choppy reading experience that aligns with Band 5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently circling back to words like 'holidays', 'student', and 'school'. There are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'after resume their regular schooling' and 'in positiveness of it'. The range is minimally adequate to convey the general topic, but frequent inaccuracies and lack of sophisticated phrasing prevent it from reaching a higher band. While meaning is generally transmitted, the lexical limitations cause some difficulty for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The essay displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, and attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are persistent errors in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure throughout the text. For example, fragment sentences like 'They now require some of their time also relaxing...' and awkward relative clauses ('which they couldn't had during the school time') demonstrate poor control. Errors occur frequently and often strain the reader's comprehension, matching the profile for Band 4.0 or a weak 4.5; a score of 4.5 reflects occasional moments of intelligible simple sentence construction.

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

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