Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 the contemporary world, people are less interested in theaters and cinema, because people are easily watching all the entertainment they want to watch online. However others believe that traditional cinemas and theaters are still important both economically and culturally.In this essay we discuss both views, that are important and play a major role in our lives because without going anywhere we can watch any serials, movies and other sources of entertainment. However, people still love to watch movies in a realistic sitting.

On the one hand, online plate form provides a wide range of entertainment sources. People who are busy in their daily routines and have no time to go anywhere with their loved ones and enjoy movies, web series and other entertainments. Digital plate forms are very convenient for them to watch everything online. This is because everything becomes more easier and accessible. For example, if we compare our past lives people have enough time to watch them in theaters but nowadays, lives are too busy people are not willing to go anywhere and enjoy those things and also due to heavy traffic they prefer to stay home and enjoy their time with loved ones. As a result, the number of visitors is decreased in Cinemas and theaters.

On the other hand, in the contemporary era, there are still significant numbers of people who are people to begin watching movies in theaters. The main reason is that it helps to give them a break from our busy routines and also impact on our mental well- being.I also believe that cinemas and theaters represent our culture and traditions which play a major role in our economy. For example, if we watch a movie on a big screen with the one whom we love it would be a great experience. We can also create a beautiful and memorable experience with our families that will stay longer.

In conclusion, the way we watch all entertainment might have changed by several factors, such as social platforms and our lifestyles, compared to past decades. Nevertheless, theatres and cinemas still play an important role in our social life and mental well-being.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The candidate has written an essay that fundamentally fails to address the actual prompt provided in the task instructions. The prompt asks about the value of long school holidays and arguments in favour of shorter school holidays. However, the student's response entirely discusses whether traditional cinemas and theaters are still important compared to online entertainment platforms. This is a severe off-topic response, likely caused by pasting an old essay template or misreading the task. Because the candidate did not address the specified topic regarding school holidays, Task Achievement cannot reach beyond Band 4.0, as the response is largely irrelevant to the set task, despite attempting some argumentative development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

Despite the severe off-topic issue, the essay maintains a discernible paragraph structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. There is an attempt at overall progression, and cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion' are utilized to signal transitions between ideas. However, paragraphing is sometimes awkward, and referencing is occasionally faulty, such as in the opening sentences where the pronoun 'people' and ideas shift confusingly. Cohesion is mechanical rather than fluid, and the logical progression is hindered by repetitive phrasing. This performance aligns best with Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is repetitive and basic, relying heavily on terms like 'entertainment', 'movies', 'theaters', and 'online plate form' (spelled incorrectly as 'plate form'). There are notable lexical and collocational errors, such as 'realistic sitting' instead of 'realistic setting' and 'people to begin watching' which makes little sense. While the candidate attempts some less common vocabulary like 'contemporary era' and 'mental well-being', the high frequency of word-choice errors and spelling mistakes ('plate forms', 'more easier') restricts the score to Band 5.0, as these errors cause some difficulty for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as dangling modifiers and incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'because people are easily watching', 'lives are too busy people are not willing', and 'number of visitors is decreased'). Punctuation errors are also present, such as missing spaces after periods. While some simpler sentences are constructed correctly, the frequency of structural errors and awkward phrasing means that error-free sentences are the minority. This corresponds to a Band 5.0 rating.

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

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