Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-05

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 4.5)

It is often observed that in many countries, elementary and high schools close for two months or more in the summer holidays. This phenomena has significant arguments regarding favour of shorter school vacations.

The primary reason for the two months or more summer vacations sometimes depend on climate conditions, every country underwent extreme weather conditions like excessive heat so longer breaks facilities to protect students from uncomfortable weather conditions For instance in india there is a small state himachal pradesh have experience lot of floods and exterme winters instead of summers so therefore schools in himachal pradesh close for months during winter vacations. The second major advantage of long vacations is rest and mental stability in longer vacations students spent quality time to learn some basic and Survival skills such as cooking and repair small things which they may not have time for during school

Another argument in favour of shorter school holidays After a long vacations student loss their focus of studies further leads to slow learning when they return back to schools.

On the other hand A long break can disrupt students study schedules and make it difficult to a structured school routine.

In conclusion although long breaks is beneficial for rest and learning new skills either during weather conditions.

i believe that long breaks distrupt their decipline and m

focus on studies during vacations alternatively it creats a gap in academic education that is difficult to bridge later

Therefore the duration of school holidays should be carefully planned according to students educational needs and weather conditions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

Please note that the response contains 248 words, which does not meet the minimum requirement of 250 words (additionally, 11 words copied from the prompt were excluded from this count). Regarding task fulfillment, the response addresses the prompt only partially. It attempts to discuss both the value of long school holidays and arguments in favour of shorter ones, but the ideas remain limited, repetitive, and under-developed. For example, the point about weather and climate conditions is confusingly expressed ('every country underwent extreme weather conditions like excessive heat so longer breaks facilities to protect students'), and the conclusion fails to maintain a clear position. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to fully develop each part of the prompt with well-supported arguments and ensure the word count requirement is met.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The response shows significant issues with overall progression and logical arrangement. Information and ideas are not arranged coherently, making it difficult to follow the writer's line of thought. Paragraphing is attempted, but paragraph breaks appear abruptly in unusual places, such as separating the middle of an argument or creating very short, disconnected blocks of text ('Another argument in favour of shorter school holidays After a long vacations student loss their focus...'). Furthermore, cohesive devices are either absent, inadequate, or inaccurate, and referencing is frequently unclear. To improve, the writer must ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence, ideas progress logically from one sentence to the next, and appropriate transition words are used to connect thoughts smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, reflecting a limited range appropriate for this level. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, such as 'This phenomena has significant arguments regarding favour of' and 'repair small things'. Spelling errors also occur, such as 'exterme', 'distrupt', 'decipline', and 'creats'. To move up to the next band, the writer needs to expand their lexical range by incorporating less common vocabulary with greater precision, pay closer attention to word formation and collocation, and carefully check their spelling before finalising the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The grammatical range is very limited, relying heavily on simple structures, and attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('every country underwent... so longer breaks facilities'), missing articles ('in india there is a small state himachal pradesh have experience lot of floods'), incorrect preposition use, and punctuation errors. These errors are frequent and often cause difficulty for the reader in interpreting the intended meaning. To improve, the writer should focus on mastering basic sentence structures, ensuring correct verb tenses and agreement, and reducing the frequency of foundational grammatical slips.

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

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