Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-14

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)

Nowadays, in some countries, primary and secondry schools close almost for two months in summer wheather. However, long holiday of schools can be valuable, as well as shorter holiday also can affect students acadamic performance.

To begin with, many schools provide enough holidays of their children and it can be benefecial for them. To elaborate, many students of secondry schools are getting other experiences of life, such they can do short-term jobs in that time of period, by which they can know that how we can earn money. They will become independent. Moreover, in such holidays they can do other courses along with study in schools. For instance, they can learn technilogical gadgets, which will be usefull for their future career. may students have extra ordinary brain capacity and they want to learnn about AI tools, but due to acadamic pressure they are unable. With the help of holidays they can learn.

Additionally, shorter holidays can build children learning skills. To dilate, due long holidays many students break their bond with study, specially primary school's students, because they do not have good thinking skills. They do not know that how much education is important.

Moreover, in schools they will do physical activities, at home however, children engage in social media and they do not pay attention on their study, if they will get shorter holidays it can be good for them.

In conclusion, while long holidays can be benefecial for students. on the other side short holidays also will be good for them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the value of long school holidays (such as gaining independent life experience and pursuing additional skills) and the arguments in favour of shorter holidays (preventing a loss of study habits and reducing time spent on social media). However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. While a clear position is maintained throughout the essay, the arguments would benefit from greater depth, more specific examples, and better elaboration. For instance, mentioning secondary school students doing short-term jobs or learning technological gadgets is relevant, but these points remain fairly superficial. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fulfilling the requirements for Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised, although the division and transition between ideas could be smoother. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'To begin with,' 'Moreover,' 'Additionally,' and 'In conclusion,' but some are used mechanically or awkwardly, as seen with 'To dilate,' which is an unnatural transition in English. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and logical progression within paragraphs is sometimes disrupted by abrupt shifts in topic. While the text is generally easy to follow, the cohesion overall reflects a Band 6 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'beneficial,' 'independent,' and 'extraordinary.' However, there are numerous spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'secondry' (secondary), 'wheather' (weather), 'acadamic' (academic), 'technilogical' (technological), 'usefull' (useful), and 'learnn' (learn). While these vocabulary and spelling errors do not completely impede communication, their frequency prevents the essay from achieving a higher band. The lexical range is sufficient to convey the main ideas, but control over spelling and precise word formation needs significant improvement.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting complex forms with conditional clauses and relative pronouns (e.g., 'if they will get shorter holidays it can be good for them'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in tense usage, subject-verb agreement, articles, and prepositions. Examples include 'long holiday of schools can be valuable,' 'many schools provide enough holidays of their children,' and 'due long holidays many students break their bond.' Furthermore, punctuation is occasionally faulty. These errors require some effort from the reader to untangle the intended meaning, placing the performance firmly in the Band 5 category.

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