Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-04

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 today's globalised world, the school holiday duration differs from one country to another. Some people prefer long vacation and while contrast to people who don't prefer a long holiday. This essay will explore the preference of each group.

To begin with, long vacations offer numerous benefits, such as those who travelled to their hometown, visit their relatives and making strong bonds with them, which has a positive impact on their mood and allow them to relax for a longer time. However, children can enjoy various activities which enhance physical activity, for example, camping with their friends, which helped him to make a new relationships and enhance the feeling of Independence. On the other hand, some parents who 365 days, they might think that long vacation will be difficult to take care of their kids, so short and holidays are there preferred choice.

Secondly shorter vacations, it has a significant value which can't be ignored. Moreover, it prevents the kids from losing their focus and interest in study in contrast, taking a long time to refocus and concentrate is more in breaks. In a survey, which found that concentration level of elementary school children declined by 45% and 32% in secondary school student who take long vacation.

In conclusion, each period of holiday has both negative and positive effects. Shorter holidays helps in maintaining concentration and interest. Furthermore, some working parents, lack of availability to take care of their children. From my perspective, breaks are more valuable than short one due to their importance in making strong bond and relations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the value of long school holidays and arguments in favour of shorter ones, though the development remains somewhat limited and under-developed. The introduction outlines the topic, but the position becomes slightly unclear or contradictory by the end, where the conclusion abruptly states a preference for long breaks while the body paragraphs touch on both sides. Ideas such as the psychological benefits of travelling and the drop in concentration levels are introduced, but they lack sufficient extension and supporting examples. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to present a fully clear and consistent position throughout, ensuring that all main ideas are thoroughly explained and supported with well-developed arguments and relevant examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some organisation with basic paragraphing and transitional markers like 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion', but there is no clear overall progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or awkwardly placed, such as 'Some people prefer long vacation and while contrast to people who don't prefer a long holiday.' Referencing is also unclear at times, creating confusion for the reader (for example, 'which helped him to make a new relationships' where the antecedent is ambiguous). Paragraphing is attempted, but internal logical flow within paragraphs frequently falters. Achieving a higher band requires ensuring that cohesive devices connect ideas smoothly, referencing is precise, and each paragraph maintains a clear, logical progression from a central topic sentence to fully supported points.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The lexical range used is limited but minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary items, such as 'globalised world', 'concentration level', and 'independence', but these attempts are often accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form. Examples include 'short and holidays are there preferred choice' and 'making strong bond and relations'. Spelling and morphological slips, such as 'vacation' versus 'vacations' and 'new relationships', occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader. To reach the next band, the writer should expand their vocabulary range, pay closer attention to natural collocations and word forms, and refine precision in word choice so that less common lexical items are used accurately and effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a very limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside poorly controlled complex attempts. Frequent grammatical errors occur across the text, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('shorter vacations, it has a significant value'), articles ('taking a long time'), plurals ('secondary school student'), and prepositions inside grammatical patterns. Attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to clunky phrasing like 'In a survey, which found that concentration level of elementary school children declined'. These frequent errors place a burden on the reader and can cause difficulty in interpretation. To improve, the writer must practice producing error-free simple sentences while carefully controlling subordinate clauses, verb tenses, and grammatical agreements to ensure clear communication.

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

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