Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-22
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)
It is undeniable that different people have different opinions. In this regard, it is believed by some people that most countries, primary and secondary schools close for two months or more during summer holidays. This essay will outline the importance of long holidays and also benefits of shorter holidays in upcoming paragraphs with a logical conclusion.
To commence with, there are some advantages of longer holidays in school. The first and foremost is that longer holidays is also beneficial for students because they can learn about new things and develop new skills such as skating, cooking and swimming etc. Furthermore, students can enjoy time with their family members by visiting hilly areas for a few weeks because parents can feel happy with their children. Moreover, students can feel relaxed and calm, and can focus on their body by performing physical activities such as walking amd jumping. For instance, in imternational countries like Canada, Australia etc foreigners students are having more holidays as compared to india because students can give their attention to parents also.
Besides this, there are some drawbacks of longer holidays and benefits of shorter holidays. The prime one is that after spending more holidays, students cannot concentrate on their studies. To clarify it more, main subjects like science, math etc. these subjects require a daily time for solving sums and numericals. Parents who are doing jobs, they face difficulties to take care of their children for a few months.
In conclusion, although there are some benefits of longer holidays such as developing new skills and feeling relaxed and calm and drawbacks cannot be neglected at any cost such as losing interest in academics.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the value of long school holidays (skill development, family time, relaxation) and the arguments in favour of shorter ones (concentration loss, childcare challenges). However, the development of these ideas is limited and at times repetitive. For instance, the discussion on family time and international contexts in paragraph two is somewhat vague ('foreigners students are having more holidays as compared to india'). The position is generally clear, but the arguments would benefit from greater depth and more precise supporting examples to reach a higher band level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into four distinct paragraphs, including an introduction and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'To commence with', 'Furthermore', and 'Besides this'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical, as seen in the phrasing 'after spending more holidays' or the abrupt transition in the third paragraph. Paragraphing is present and logically separates the main points, but the overall progression could be smoother and more natural to satisfy higher descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their main ideas. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'concentration', 'drawbacks', and 'academic', but these are accompanied by noticeable word-choice inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'international countries like Canada, Australia etc foreigners students' and 'parents who are doing jobs'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical control is limited, placing this response firmly in the Band 6 range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'It is undeniable that different people have different opinions' and 'while there are some benefits of longer holidays... and drawbacks cannot be neglected'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including 'longer holidays is also beneficial' (subject-verb agreement), 'parents can feel happy with their children' (awkward collocation), and punctuation issues in the final sentence. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the score to a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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