Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

In numerous countries, primary and secondary education systems close for two months or more in the summer holidays.

The value of long summer holidays were to provide time to both student and their parents to spend sometime together. In daily routine, both children and parents do not have time to talk to each other. They are too much bound with their daily activities. In modern countries, Students do part time jobs during their school days to fulfill their other needs. In countries like Pakistan, parents sent their children straight to tuition for further studies. When children reach home, they even don't have time to eat meal in peace with their parent and direct sent to bed. Summer holidays provides such children to spend time in peace. They have time to visit different places like their hometown, historical places, amusement parks and other cities at their relatives. Some children who belong to poor families get time to earn some money for their academic purpose. Some do other courses which interest them. Some spends their time with enjoying with friends and lot of them choose to play games both indoor and outdoor.

If school holidays reduce to minimum, it effects both school and children. The main purpose of summer holiday is to reduce electricity bills and to secure children health. These holidays reduce the stress to both children and their teachers. Some school went to trip on summer voacations to grow the children mind health.

In my opinion, summer vocations play very important role in both health and studies.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the main parts of the prompt, discussing both the value of long school holidays and arguments in favour of shorter ones, but the ideas remain limited and under-developed. For instance, the writer touches on spending time together and earning money, but these points lack extension and clear examples. Furthermore, the position is not always entirely clear, as the arguments tend to jump between different perspectives, such as electricity bills and health, without sufficient elaboration. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to fully develop each main idea with relevant explanations and clear supporting examples rather than listing multiple brief points.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation evident in the essay, as the writer attempts to divide the discussion into introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs. However, there is no clear overall progression throughout the text, and the transitions between ideas can feel abrupt. Cohesive devices are used rather inadequately or repetitively, such as the repeated use of 'Some' to start consecutive sentences in the second paragraph (e.g., 'Some children who belong...', 'Some do other courses...', 'Some spends their time...'). Additionally, referencing is at times unclear, which disrupts the flow of information. To achieve a higher score, the writer must ensure logical sequencing between sentences and paragraphs and use a wider range of cohesive devices naturally without mechanical repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'historical places', 'amusement parks', and 'academic purpose', but there are noticeable errors in word choice, form, and spelling, such as 'vocations' instead of 'vacations', 'school went to trip', and 'grow the children mind health'. These lexical inaccuracies and spelling mistakes cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted range. To progress further, the writer should build a broader vocabulary repertoire, pay closer attention to word collocation and word formation, and ensure accurate spelling of common academic and everyday terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences alongside a few faulty attempts at complex ones. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'The value of long summer holidays were', 'Some spends their time'), article usage, and prepositions. For example, phrases like 'spend sometime together', 'direct sent to bed', and 'it effects both school and children' contain structural inaccuracies that frequently cause difficulty for the reader. To reach the next level, the writer needs to demonstrate better control over basic sentence patterns, improve verb form consistency, and produce a higher proportion of error-free sentences when attempting complex structures.

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

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