Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-23

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)

The primary and secondary schools around the world, give summer holidays to students for two or more months. Although many people believe that the summer holidays should not be this much longer, some are in the favour of these holidays as these can be proven beneficial for students in many ways. This essay will explain why some people value long shcool holidays whilst some may argue in favour of shorter holidays.

Holidays provide children freedom and freshen up their mind. Many parents utilize summer holidays by sending their children in summer camps or let them enjoy different extra-cirricular activities such as swimming. It makes their chilrden active and strengthen their focus so that a child can go to school with fresh mind after holidays. This is the reason they want longer holidays. Other than this, the temperature. For instance, there was news in last summer about children, fainting due to heat wave that's why the education minister extended summer vacations in schools. Therefore, to avoid risks to heath of kids, many people are in favour of closing schools for loger period in summers.

In contrast, there is the category of parents who are unable to discipline their naughty kids at home during long holidays. This is the reason they want shorter holidays for their children so that after sending them school, parents can relax and find peace at home behind them. Moreover, the children maintain discipline whilst going to school as they have to complete their homeworks.

To conclude, I firmly believe that the children should stay at home in summer for longer period due to risks to their health also they can learn some practical things by joining different camps. The reason for shorter holidays is not as essential as the health of students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones, giving a clear personal position in the conclusion. Ideas are relevant, such as health risks due to heat waves and parents seeking peace or discipline at home. However, some arguments lack full extension and suffer from generalisations or slight under-development. For example, the point about parents wanting to relax at home is somewhat conversational and could be elevated with deeper analysis regarding childcare challenges. Nevertheless, the prompt is adequately covered throughout the essay, fulfilling the core requirements for Band 6.5 to 7.0. Given the general nature of some points and minor under-development in the second body paragraph, a band score of 6.0 is appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing each aspect of the prompt, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each body paragraph focusing on a distinct theme. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty or mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases like 'Other than this, the temperature' are abrupt and lack seamless integration. Referencing is also slightly unclear in places, such as 'This is the reason they want longer holidays', where the exact antecedent is muddy due to multiple preceding clauses. Overall, the logical progression is evident, but the cohesive ties require greater flexibility and precision to reach a higher band level.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'extra-curricular activities', 'heat wave', and 'vacations'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that detract from precision, including 'shcool' instead of 'school', 'in the favour of' instead of 'in favour of', 'extra-cirricular', 'heath' instead of 'health', and 'homeworks' (which is uncountable). Furthermore, phrasing such as 'find peace at home behind them' is awkward and unnatural. While these lexical errors do not seriously impede communication, their frequency prevents the essay from achieving a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over subordinate clauses ('Although many people believe that...', 'so that a child can go to school...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation lapses. Examples include missing articles ('give summer holidays to students', 'the education minister extended summer vacations in schools'), preposition errors ('sending their children in summer camps' instead of 'to'), and comma splices or run-on structures ('...due to heat wave that's why the education minister...'). Despite these recurring errors, the meaning remains generally clear and communication is rarely impeded, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 6.0.

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