Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-15
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)
In many education systems,schools close for two or three months in summer vacations. Longer school holidays are helpful only if spent right the same goes for shorter holidays .
One major benefit of longer holidays is that they provide a lot of time to recover from over work and lets us relax as much as we want in these days. Having said that extented summer vacations give us more time to spend time with family and friends which on school days becomes difficult because of the overload of homework and pressure to perform well in class. For example, school toppers or even students who are average get to go on vacation with their family , after studying hard for more than 7 to 8 moths and it gives them a chance to relax their body and it gives them a change of sceneary e.g. like going to beaches, zoos, aquariums and other exotic gardens that help them to recover from all the stress they build up over the year.
secondly, shorter holidays just like longer ones may have a lot of benefits like it helps the students to remain discipilned and reminds them that they should maintain their study habits. Another reason is that parents won
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5
The response attempts to address both parts of the prompt, discussing the value of long school holidays such as recovery from overwork and family time, and briefly touching on discipline for shorter holidays. However, the essay is incomplete and stops abruptly mid-sentence ('Another reason is that parents won...'). Furthermore, the length check confirms the essay contains only 206 words, falling well short of the 250-word minimum requirement. Consequently, task completion is severely compromised, ideas cannot be fully developed, and a negative penalty must be applied to the Task Achievement score. Band 4.5 best reflects this minimal and truncated response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay displays some organizational structure, opening with a basic introduction and utilizing transitional markers such as 'One major benefit' and 'secondly'. However, overall progression is disrupted by the abrupt ending of the text. Paragraphing is attempted, but the second paragraph is excessively long and dense, grouping multiple disparate thoughts together. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is occasionally vague. While some logical sequencing is visible, the abrupt truncation heavily impacts the overall coherence and structural integrity of the essay. Band 5.0 is appropriate here.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates a basic vocabulary range suitable for discussing everyday topics, employing terms such as 'vacations', 'discipilned', and 'sceneary'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('extented', 'sceneary', 'discipilned') and awkward phrasings like 'spent right' and 'recover from over work'. The range is limited and minimally adequate for the task. Uncommon lexical items are attempted but often imprecise or inaccurate, and the incomplete ending restricts the vocabulary sample further. This aligns with the descriptors for Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and conditional structures (e.g., 'Longer school holidays are helpful only if spent right...'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are punctuation errors, missing commas, and run-on sentences that lack proper clause separation. Additionally, the essay contains frequent minor slips and structural awkwardness. Because the text cuts off mid-sentence, the grammatical range is truncated. These factors indicate a performance fitting Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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