Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-16

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 contemporary society, it is an ongoing debate that in many places primary and secondary schools close for two months or more in summer vacations. Also, what is the value of longer school holidays? In this essay i would not only elaborate arguments but also provide suitable examples to support it.

To commence with, one of the most significant reason is that long school vacations provide students time that can play a vital role in developing core skills. In other words, this extended time can polish the quality of many ambitious and thirsty students. A good example of value of long school holidays can be that a student in United Kingdom do's a internship in Computer Science which later helps him to get a better job in microsoft company etc.

While on the other hand, there are also several crucial reasons in favour of shorter school vacations. Like the first and foremost factor to support this argument is that when students are given longer school off, they may fall prey to harmful activities which can not only harm them but can also be severe in long run. For instance, when they are given longer school vacations from their school they may get familiar to the comfort zone provided by most of the households. In other words, then they don't like school and it's activities anymore. It becomes very difficult for them to escape the iron cage of comfort.

In conclusion, although the reasons in favor of shorter holidays are quite authentic and alarming. But, it is basic right of every school student to enjoy summer vacations not only to enjoy themselves but to develop some skills which may later help them considerably.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat superficial. For example, while the writer mentions an internship in the UK, the explanation lacks depth. Furthermore, the introduction is slightly confused, phrasing the prompt as a question rather than stating a clear position. The arguments are relevant, but they tend to be brief and slightly repetitive, such as the discussion of comfort zones. This places the response comfortably in Band 5.5 to 6.0, as it addresses the task adequately but requires more fully extended and supported ideas to reach higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is generally coherent with a clear overall arrangement into introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different points. However, logical progression is sometimes hindered by awkward transitional phrases, such as starting the final paragraph with 'In conclusion, although the reasons in favor of shorter holidays are quite authentic and alarming. But...'. The use of cohesive devices is mechanical at times (e.g., 'To commence with', 'While on the other hand'), and referencing is occasionally unclear. Overall, the organizational structure meets the criteria for Band 6, providing a discernible flow despite minor mechanical transitions.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student displays an adequate vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and phrases such as 'fall prey to harmful activities', 'comfort zone', and 'iron cage of comfort'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'thirsty students' instead of 'enthusiastic students', 'longer school off' instead of 'extended holidays', and 'do's a internship' instead of 'undertakes an internship'. Spelling and word-formation errors occur, but they do not impede communication. These characteristics align with the Band 5.0 to 6.0 descriptors, reflecting an adequate range with noticeable lexical errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('one of the most significant reason is'), incorrect punctuation and capitalization ('i', 'microsoft company'), and tense or auxiliary errors ('do's a internship'). Furthermore, sentence fragments and comma splices affect the overall control, particularly in the conclusion where a sentence is incorrectly broken into two ('In conclusion, although... But...'). Because errors are frequent enough to distract the reader while communication remains intact, a score of 5.5 is appropriate.

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