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 many nations school children are given summer break lasting two months or longer. While long break provide several benifits , there are also some convincing points why shorter breaks preferable .
Firstly , long break are valuable because it gives students a significant time to get relief from academic pressure , scholars spend quality time with their family ,friends , travel and devlops interest oustdie the school. For instance, in sports , summer programes , creative activities which is difficult to fit in school terms.
On the other hand , in long holidays students are more likely to forget what they learn in clasroom . So shorter breaks are good for maintain balance between studies and relaxation , easier to maintain study routine . Moreover , it make easier for working parents they have to spend less on childcare , also teachers did not want to spend much time on revising old material .
In conclusion , long holidays are better for students beacuse it gave them sufficient time for rest and pursue personal interest . however, shorter breaks help students maintain academic progress and it also makes childcare easy for working parents , shorter holidays are benificary for everyone students , parents and teachers as well .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt by discussing the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter breaks. However, the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed, lacking detailed extension or concrete personal examples. For instance, the mention of family, travel, and sports is brief and lacks elaboration. Additionally, the response does not meet the minimum length requirement, falling short of the two hundred and fifty-word limit at two hundred and nine words, which restricts further development.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
There is a coherent overall arrangement with clear attempts at paragraphing and basic staging of ideas. The response utilizes some standard cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion can feel somewhat mechanical, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the ambiguous pronoun use in clauses like 'it make easier for working parents they have to spend less'. It successfully meets the lower band criteria and shows glimpses of logical organisation, but requires smoother transitions and more flexible referencing to reach the next band.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student displays a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary suitable for discussing school schedules. There are noticeable spelling mistakes ('benifits', 'devlops', 'oustdie', 'programes', 'benificary') and word-form errors that reflect a developing lexicon. While communication is not severely impaired, these lexical slips and a reliance on basic terminology restrict the precision and flexibility of the writing, keeping it within the range of a limited vocabulary repertoire.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences alongside basic compound or complex attempts. There are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('long break provide', 'teachers did not want'), missing articles, and awkward punctuation or run-on clauses. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a heavy presence of inaccurate grammatical patterns throughout the text.
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