Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-19

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 of the countries, summer vacations are for two months or more in the educational institutions. These long holidays might lead to various factors that are beneficial for students which includes relaxation, working on oneself and utilizing the time with some recreational activities. In this essay, I will discuss some of the benefits and drawbacks of school holidays and draw a conclusion.

Firstly, a break is essential for students because it helps in breaking the cycle of hectic routines and exhaustion. Although, in some schools there are long summer breaks, but it gives students an opportunity to work on oneself and enhance their practical skills and knowledge. Furthermore, adolescents might join swimming clubs for physical fitness. For example, many young adults join several courses to utilize their vacations including art and craft as well as swimming clubs. As a result, they become motivated and encouraging in achieving their goals.

On the other hand, some people believe that there should be shorter school holidays because students might get bored and find it difficult to rejoin the school. If the holidays become shorter, then students become responsible and accountable for their behaviors as they would complete their tasks within time. Another factor contributing this is that students are mostly irresponsible in their early school years; therefore, they might exploit their holidays by wasting their time. As a result, they become demotivated and careless because only a small proportion of young adults utilize their breaks in a productive way. For example, longer breaks might result in laziness in young adults.

In conclusion, holidays are necessary for relaxing and exploring oneself. Therefore, students should make the best use of free days and utilize them in a healthier way.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones, as requested by the prompt. A clear position is established in the introduction and maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are generally relevant, such as relaxation, personal development, and the risk of boredom or laziness. However, some arguments are slightly repetitive or under-developed, particularly when discussing student responsibility and motivation in the third paragraph. For instance, stating that students become demotivated because only a small proportion utilize breaks productively lacks deeper elaboration. Overall, the response meets the requirements for Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 7 due to clear task coverage, but holding at Band 6.0 because some main points remain somewhat generalized and require stronger support.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is structured with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion, providing a coherent overall arrangement. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different facets of the prompt. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', 'For example', and 'On the other hand'. However, referencing and logical progression are sometimes affected by slightly awkward transitions and minor cohesion faults, such as the pronoun mismatch in 'work on oneself and enhance their practical skills'. Additionally, the conclusion briefly summarizes the main points but feels a bit abrupt. The logical flow is generally maintained, placing this safely in the Band 6 territory, where cohesion can occasionally be mechanical or slightly faulty without impeding overall clarity.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related terms such as 'educational institutions', 'recreational activities', 'physical fitness', and 'practical skills'. There are also successful attempts to use less common vocabulary, including 'exhaustion', 'demotivated', and 'proportion'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'encouraging in achieving their goals' instead of 'encouraged to achieve', and 'exploit their holidays' where 'waste' or 'squander' would be more natural. Spelling is generally accurate, but limitations in collocation and precision prevent the score from reaching Band 7. The vocabulary used is sufficient to convey meaning clearly, supporting a Band 6 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional forms and relative clauses, such as 'If the holidays become shorter, then students become responsible...' and '...breaks that are beneficial for students which includes relaxation...'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout the text. For example, subject-verb agreement is faulty in 'which includes relaxation' (should be 'include') and 'students... work on oneself' (should be 'themselves'). Punctuation and article usage also exhibit minor flaws, such as 'In most of the countries'. Despite these errors, the structures do not impede communication, and the writer demonstrates a reasonable degree of control over simple sentences while attempting complex forms, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.