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)

Most of schools was closed in summer holidays especially primary and secondary schools for two months. I believe that the holidays are valuable for students.

On the one hand, the long holidays is best for students because in this period students gains the practical knowledge and also learn how to deal with reality. For example, in holidays the students joined the summer schools in which the students learn the communication skills, some students doing internship in holidays and this thing is build the practical knowledge in the students and some students plan the trip with friends and family travelling is the best activity in life its helps to explore the world and learn the how to deal with people and also learn the new culture and traditions. That's how long holidays is valuable for students.

On the other hand, shorter school holidays is on going debate if the students are not doing anything in holidays thats the waste of time and money. Mostly in India and Pakistan the schools were giving the summer break but lack of infrastructure students does not explore the industry especially primary and secondary pupils.

In my opinion, summer vacations is important for the personal growth and social activities. In this period students learn lots of knowledge of real world and near to the reality. That's makes the students more confident.

In conclusion, the fewer holidays is not worthy for students rather than the two months vacation. I think government should takes action on it and allows the schools and colleges to add one more month in holidays.

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 the arguments for shorter ones, alongside your personal opinion. However, the ideas are presented in a limited and somewhat repetitive manner without sufficient extension or supporting evidence. For instance, the discussion on practical knowledge mentions joining summer schools and internships, but these points are underdeveloped and lack specific explanation or concrete examples. Furthermore, the position is somewhat unclear at times due to abrupt shifts between paragraphs, such as the sudden mention of India and Pakistan in the third paragraph. To reach a higher level, you need to fully develop your ideas with clearer explanations and more detailed examples for every main point you raise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organization to your writing, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing both sides, and a conclusion. However, the response lacks a clear overall progression from beginning to end, making the flow somewhat disjointed. Cohesive devices are used inadequately or repetitively, relying heavily on simple connectors like 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and run-on structures without appropriate punctuation. For example, the second paragraph consists of one extremely long and complex sentence chain ('...for example, in holidays the students joined... and this thing is build... and some students plan... its helps... and learn...'). Paragraphing is attempted, but internal logical transitions between sentences need significant improvement. To progress, you should use a wider variety of accurate cohesive devices and break long, chaotic sentences into manageable, logically linked units.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task. You attempt some less common topics and phrases such as 'practical knowledge', 'personal growth', and 'social activities', but these are accompanied by noticeable word choice errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'near to the reality', 'fewer holidays is not worthy', and 'lack of infrastructure students does not explore the industry'. There are also instances of inappropriate word forms and collocation issues that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, such as using 'doing internship' instead of 'undertaking internships'. To improve your lexical score, you need to expand your vocabulary range and pay closer attention to how words naturally collocate and function within a sentence.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences and faulty attempts at complex forms. Frequent grammatical errors occur throughout the text, involving subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'Most of schools was closed', 'the long holidays is best', 'vacations is important'), articles (e.g., 'in holidays', 'in the holidays'), and punctuation. Run-on sentences are common, such as the lengthy second paragraph where multiple clauses are joined improperly without correct conjunctions or punctuation marks. These frequent errors cause strain and difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, you must demonstrate better control over basic grammar rules, improve subject-verb agreement, and construct complex sentences with accurate punctuation.

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