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)
In several countries, primary and secondary schools are close for two month or extra in the summer vacations. The school going child have to be punchual for their studies in youngest age and if schools remain closed for up to two months then they must be irresponsible to their studies. But, some think that children must be free from school for some days that they don't feel stress through their regular studies.
There is a value of vacatons in most of cases that children spent more time with their families and do some other activites apart from studies. That's realy important for their mental and physical health. Countinuos studying can leads some health issues.
For example, if a student spent almost 6 to 8 hourse of studying then he feels little anxity, low eyesight, headache, and several more health issues.
While on the other hand, there is another perspactive that holidays up to 2 to 4 months may leads to unknowledgement in children. They may leave studies and broke their flow of study. Now a days, study is very important for everyone that countain a lot advatages for those who knoe that without study they may stay poor for whole life. Education also build career in every possible way. Moreover, If one door of success is closed for an educated person then there were a lot more door for them and they believe in it.
In conclusion, the school vacations are important for physical and mental health. It keeps children fresh and focused. But, if the quantity of vacatons are increase then it may become caused to studies.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt regarding the value of long school holidays and the arguments for shorter breaks. However, the treatment of these ideas remains limited and under-developed. For instance, the discussion on health benefits mentions valid points such as spending time with family and avoiding stress, but these points are supported with basic assertions rather than fully elaborated examples. Similarly, the counterargument concerning learning loss and career impact is introduced with phrases like "unknowledgement in children" and "broke their flow of study," but the progression of ideas is restricted. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to present fully extended and well-supported arguments with clearer examples that demonstrate a fully developed position throughout the essay.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays some organisation with basic paragraphing and overall logical arrangement, yet it lacks clear overall progression. Paragraphs are divided into reasonable sections covering the introduction, value of holidays, arguments for shorter breaks, and conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is frequently faulty, mechanical, or repetitive. Words like "While on the other hand," and basic transitional phrases are relied upon without seamless integration. Furthermore, referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly with pronouns such as "it" and "they," which creates ambiguity regarding the intended referents. Moving to a higher level requires the flexible use of a wider range of cohesive devices and a more logical, natural progression of ideas across paragraphs.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task, resulting in noticeable errors that can occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader. The student attempts some less common terms and phrases, such as "mental and physical health" and "countain a lot advatages," but these attempts are marred by frequent spelling errors (e.g., "vacatons," "activites," "realy," "Countinuos," "anxity," "perspactive," "advatages," "knoe") and inaccurate word choices (e.g., "unknowledgement," "caused to studies"). These lexical slips impede smooth reading and reveal a lack of control over word forms and spelling. To reach the next band, the writer must expand their vocabulary range, improve word formation, and ensure accurate spelling throughout the text.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The grammar demonstrates a limited range of structures, relying mostly on basic sentences alongside attempts at more complex forms that are frequently faulty. There are persistent errors in subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, plurals, and prepositions within grammatical patterns. Examples of these issues include "primary and secondary schools are close," "The school going child have to be punchual," "if a student spent almost 6 to 8 hourse," and "there were a lot more door for them." These frequent errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader in parsing the exact meaning. To progress further, the writer needs to master basic agreement and article usage while increasing control over complex sentence structures with fewer grammatical errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.