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)

A highly controversial issue today relates to whether to have in the summer primary and secondary schools close for two months. In this essay, I am going to examine this question from both points of view and then explain how these vacation are valued for young minds.

There are people who argue that the benefits of long term off days impect students' more positive be they get relaxed and charged themselves to wor hard and get highier grades. For instance when they enjoyed alot stay away from the school, its quite more memorable time for them to make memories with friends and with near and dear ones. The main reason for believing that, after enjoying quality time, they focus more and pat attention to their work because their bodies are fully recharged and ready to shine. considerably. It is also possible to say that One good illustration of this is

On the other hand, others believe that this period must be shorter than two months. It is often argued that student have less time to prepare for exams because they total leave the studies behind. People often have this argument because their children are getting lower percentage and facing hurddles. A second point is that when they could not get the target scores , they are not able to get their dream goals or jobs which lead them towards frustration and stress like diseases.

In conclusion, I believe both arguments have their own significant place. On balance, however, I feel that this period of time should be decrease in the sake of students' goals because to secure the future is more important than relaxation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments for shorter ones, but the treatment remains somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, while the writer mentions that holidays help students relax and recharge, the supporting arguments quickly drift into fragmented thoughts without fully expanding on how this impacts academic or personal growth. Similarly, the opposing view regarding exam preparation and stress is introduced but lacks depth and concrete examples. The position is clear overall, but the ideas tend to be repetitive and lack sufficient extension to reach a higher level of task response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic organizational structure with clear paragraphing, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the overall progression of ideas is hindered by awkward transitions and incomplete sentences, such as 'It is also possible to say that One good illustration of this is' which abruptly cuts off. Cohesive devices are used, but they are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the logical flow between sentences and ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary and topic-related terms such as 'controversial issue' and 'frustration and stress', but these are accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, form, and collocation, such as 'long term off days', 'pat attention', and 'disease' used metaphorically for stress. Additionally, incomplete sentences and abrupt phrasing restrict the lexical range and occasionally cause difficulty or hesitation for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on basic patterns alongside faulty attempts at complex sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the response, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('student have less time'), plurals ('these vacation', 'hurddles'), verb forms ('should be decrease'), and prepositional use. These frequent errors require the reader to slow down and interpret the intended meaning, though communication is not completely obscured.

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