Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-28

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 many countries, all the schools are closed in summer holidays for primary and secondary class for two months which is good or bad for students .

Now let's try to evaluate, the values of long school holidays .We know that the weather of summer holidays are extremely hot . So that summer holidays help to protect our children for heat waves . Secondly, school holiday not means only fun its provide children to physical activities and also able to do holiday work as well.Childrens take a rest for some day than finish our holiday homework . Moreover, some parents also go for trip so that its help family to make new memories and enjoy the summer holidays. Children feels happy for summer holidays because so many students waiting for holidays. In my experience, my summer holidays are very interested just because I go outside to play cricket in early morning and enjoy with friends and make full schedule how much time i give to studys and how much time to do activities.

Although, I aruge that shorter school holidays also not bad idea just because students feel bore after sometime and feel sad .Some students not study in holidays which affect the grades and some students not want to go school when the summer break over. Teachers also feel little tried as well . So yes schools need to discuss about these points that maybe favourable to small holidays in schools.

To summarise, I try to explain all the value of long holidays as well as short holidays but I believe that long holidays can be much better just because students have freedom to reset our mind after summer break the exams are also conducted to show result which will easily evalute the performance .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the value of long holidays (e.g., escaping heat waves, family trips, rest, physical activities) and the arguments for shorter breaks (e.g., boredom, regression in studies, tired teachers). A clear position is stated in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies heavily on personal anecdotes rather than fully extended, objective arguments. While all parts of the task are covered, the explanations remain relatively superficial, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor where relevant ideas are present but under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with basic paragraphing, separating the introduction, the value of long holidays, the arguments for short holidays, and the conclusion. However, cohesion is often mechanical and faulty. For instance, the transition 'Although, I aruge that...' is awkward, and referencing pronouns (such as 'its', 'our', and 'their') is frequently confused throughout the text, as seen in 'its provide children to physical activities and also able to do holiday work as well.' Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within paragraphs lacks smooth logical progression, placing this performance at Band 5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary to communicate basic ideas related to school holidays, weather, and daily routines, such as 'primary and secondary class', 'heat waves', and 'holiday homework'. However, there are numerous lexical and collocation errors, such as 'weather of summer holidays', 'Childrens take a rest', and 'students feel bore'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with noticeable inaccuracy, and word forms are frequently misused. Because communication remains generally understandable despite these frequent errors, a score of 5.0 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response shows a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures are frequently faulty or incomplete. There are pervasive grammatical errors involving subject-verb agreement ('school holiday not means', 'Children feels'), article usage, prepositions ('go for trip', 'rest for some day'), and tense consistency. Punctuation is also problematic, with missing periods and erratic capitalization. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the text from achieving a Band 6, placing it firmly at Band 5.

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