Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-06

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)

There has been a growing debate about whether primary and seconday schools should close for two months or more in summer holidays. From my prespective school holidays are good for children because they will get to spend time with family and they can play games with friends. I will discuss some of the pros and cons in this essay.

Firstly, long holidays provide good thing for children because they will spend much time with their family and siblings. It will build a deep relation with their family members. They will eat healthy food that will make their health good and their body feel strong. Furthermore, a children should invest their holidays in cocurricular activities than studies. It will provide benefits. For instance a school going boy is good in music as he attends class and in summer holidays he becomes a good musician. After this some kids are good in sports so they can save their off days from school and join clubs where they can train themself to be a good athlete.

Conversely, school going children will be a regularly learning their homework if the holidays duration is shortened. This way teachers dont have to spend much time for revision. Some children forget what they have studied previously in schools.

In conclusion, the long holidays are much good for students to spend their toiem

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments for shorter ones, establishing a clear initial position. However, ideas remain limited and under-developed, relying on simplistic generalisations such as eating healthy food and playing games. Furthermore, the response is incomplete, as it falls short of the minimum two-hundred-and-fifty-word requirement, ending abruptly with an unfinished sentence. To reach a higher level, the writer must fully develop each main point with detailed explanations and relevant examples, while ensuring the essay is completed in full.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some overall organisation with basic paragraphing and cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', and 'Conversely'. However, there is a lack of clear progression, and cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in vague transitions between ideas in the body paragraphs. While the essay is divided into an introduction, body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion, the abrupt ending disrupts the overall logical flow. To improve, the writer needs to ensure smoother transitions between sentences and paragraphs, building a clearer, more logical progression of ideas throughout the entire response.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey basic ideas. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations that cause some difficulty for the reader, such as 'seconday', 'prespective', 'school going boy', and 'regularly learning their homework'. Spelling errors like 'dont' and 'toiem' (for 'time') further restrict the lexical score. The range of vocabulary is restricted to simple words and phrases. To achieve a higher band, the student should expand their range of vocabulary, use less common lexical items accurately, and pay closer attention to word formation, spelling, and natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences, with attempts at complex sentences often resulting in errors. Frequent grammatical errors are present, including subject-verb agreement issues ('a children should invest', 'teachers dont have to spend'), article misuse ('in summer holidays'), and awkward prepositional phrases ('in music as he attends class'). These frequent errors can cause difficulty and confusion for the reader. To improve, the student needs to develop a wider variety of complex sentence structures and improve grammatical control, particularly regarding verb forms, singular and plural agreement, and article usage.

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