Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-02

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, primary and secondary schools close for two months or more in the summer holidays. Some people believe that long school holidays are more benefical, while some people argu in favour of shoter school holidays. In my opinion, i believe that long school vacations are more important for the students. In this essay, i discuse the both views.

On the one hand, there are several advantages of the long school vacations. The main reason is that during these long term vacations students send more time with their families and also visit their realitives with their parents. Furthermore, they feel more relaxed and stresses free. For example, during thess holidays they can participate in other different activites like sports and art compititions that can held in the society. These activites are very beneficial for their mental and physical health. and also learn new skills. These experience can contribute to their personal development.

On the other hand, there are some strong arguments related to the shorter school holidays. One main concern is that students can connected with their studies. They don't need to a long time to connect with the studies again. They can maintain a regular learning routine. For instance, a few shorter break throughout the year could allow students to relax without losing their study habits.

In conclusion, both long and short school holidays have advantages. However, i believe that long summer holidays are more valuable because they give students sufficient time to rest, spend time with their families and develop intreset outside the classroom. At the same time, shorter breaks during the academic year could help students maintain a healthy balance between study and relaxation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

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, while also presenting a clear overall position. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the points about family time and stress relief are relevant, but the examples provided, such as 'participate in other different activites like sports and art compititions', remain somewhat generalised and lack deep extension. To move to a higher band, the writer would need to fully develop all main points with more specific explanations and fully realized supporting examples rather than relying on brief mentions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraphing structure, separating the introduction, the two body paragraphs covering opposing views, and the conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing is not always completely clear. For example, transitional phrases like 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' are used to signal shifts, but internal cohesive devices occasionally feel repetitive or slightly disjointed, as seen in 'These experience can contribute to their personal development.' Progression is visible, but achieving a higher band would require smoother transitions between sentences and more flexible, natural referencing throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common vocabulary such as 'personal development' and 'regular learning routine'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that occur throughout the text, including 'benefical' instead of beneficial, 'argu' instead of argue, 'shoter' instead of shorter, 'realitives' instead of relatives, 'stresses' instead of stress, 'activites', 'compititions', 'held' instead of held, and 'intreset' instead of interest. While these errors do not seriously impede communication, their frequency prevents the writing from achieving a higher lexical band. To improve, the student needs to focus on spelling accuracy and precise word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over sentence structure. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, but they rarely impede communication. Examples of grammatical lapses include 'i believe' using a lowercase pronoun, 'i discuse the both views', 'send more time' instead of spend, 'during thess holidays', 'can connected with their studies', and sentence fragment issues like 'and also learn new skills.' There are also minor article and preposition slips. To reach a higher level, the writer must increase the frequency of error-free sentences, maintain tighter control over verb forms, and eliminate basic punctuation and capitalization errors.

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