Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-01

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 debate on summer school holidays is still present at international level. Some people consider that long vacations are valuable while other think there should be shorter holidays. I believe that short summer break will be a positive development.

On the one hand, extensive summer breaks are valuable among the students because in that time they feel free from academic burden and enjoy their lives. Although the schools give summer tasks but the children do not take it serious, and they do what they want, this mindset ruin their capabilities of learning during holidays. In some countries which have hotter summers, in this case long summer holidays are beneficial for maintaining the health of students but for them there should be strict ban on winter holidays. So they should maintain their academic activities.

On the other hand, if schools remian close for more than two months this will effect the performance of students ultimately they will become less confident in their studies. Moreover, they will not able to show seriousness for some upcoming next month, that will prove detrimental and effect their grades. To avoid all these consequences the schools should take notice on shorter holidays. This approach will definitely helpful for improving the curricular activities of students. Spending more time in school and learning new things will prove beneficial for students and they feel more confident and show better performance in school.

To sum up, longer breaks from school have more disadvantages which outweigh the advantages. Massive holidays effect the curricular activities of learners moreover it develop sense of irresponsibility among students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt regarding the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter breaks, presenting a clear position that shorter vacations are preferable. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, the discussion on health benefits in countries with hotter summers mentions that 'for them there should be strict ban on winter holidays,' which is a weak and abrupt argument without adequate elaboration or support. Similarly, the points regarding academic performance and the loss of seriousness are repetitive and lack specific examples to fully extend the argument. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to provide deeper explanations and concrete examples for every main point presented.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic logical organisation to the response, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing each side of the prompt, and a conclusion. However, the overall progression lacks seamless continuity, and cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or inadequate. For example, transition phrases like 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' are used, but relationships within and between sentences are frequently disjointed, as seen in the sudden shift from health benefits to winter holidays in the second paragraph. Additionally, referencing is sometimes unclear, such as 'that will prove detrimental' without a precise antecedent. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion needs to be managed more effectively to ensure a smoother flow of ideas throughout the essay.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student displays a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases like 'academic burden' and 'detrimental'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, word form, and collocation that cause some difficulty for the reader. For example, the writer uses 'remian close' instead of remain closed, 'effect' instead of affect in multiple instances ('this will effect the performance'), and phrases like 'take notice on shorter holidays' which sound unnatural. Spelling and morphological errors such as 'serious' instead of seriously, and 'develop sense' instead of developing a sense, further restrict the lexical score. To improve, the writer should focus on precise word choices and correct word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response uses a limited range of structures, featuring mostly simple sentences alongside some attempts at complex forms that are often faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors in verb forms, tenses, articles, and prepositions within grammatical patterns. For example, the sentence 'Although the schools give summer tasks but the children do not take it serious' contains a redundant conjunction pair ('Although... but') and agreement issues ('it' instead of them). Other errors include missing articles ('at international level') and awkward phrasing such as 'they will not able to show seriousness'. These frequent errors require the reader to decode the meaning and prevent the response from achieving a higher mark. Incorporating error-free complex sentences will elevate this area.

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

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