Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In the contemporary world, in many countries, primary and secondary schools have summer vacation or schools are closed for very long time such as two or more than two months. In Europe summers are very hot, temperature is above 40 degree celcius, due to hot summer days schools and universities are closed for very long period, because heavy sunlight and high temperature may cause health problems. On the other hand, many parents and citizens are in favour of having smaller vacations for schools and colleges, because long holidays may affect on the studies of childern.

Firstly, in many countries weather in summer is quite different as compare with other countries. In europe temperature is considerably high. So to avoid health issues which arises due to high temperature such as dehydration and sun burning, governments and schools declare the holidays for students in summer for long time like for two or three months.

However, many parents have concern about the child studies. Due to holidays students are not doing there studies, which will be affects on there future. So many parents are doing arguments with schools to reduce the summer vaction period, which help students to stay connected with studies and more aware about future goals.

In conclusion, schools needs to reduce the period of summer vacation which help parents and students to stay connected with studies. Schools can announce vacation on peak summer time instead of from starting of the summer where temperature is relatively low as compare with the other days in summer which is infavour of both problems such as health issue of having dehydration and will not affect the studies of students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the prompt by discussing the value of long school holidays, such as health and weather considerations, and presenting arguments in favour of shorter ones, like the impact on children's studies. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion around weather and health is reiterated across multiple paragraphs without being significantly extended or supported with varied examples. The student takes a clear position, especially in the conclusion, but the reasoning throughout relies on generalised points. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to expand on the ideas with more specific explanations and well-developed supporting arguments, ensuring that each body paragraph introduces distinct, fully explored points rather than overlapping concepts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some overall organisation, with a discernible introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, which provides a basic framework for the reader. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression, and the logical flow between ideas is occasionally disrupted by mechanical or repetitive use of cohesive devices. For example, transition phrases such as 'Firstly' and 'However' are used, but referencing within and between sentences is sometimes unclear, such as the ambiguous pronoun use in 'which will be affects on there future'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas lacks smooth transitions. To achieve a stronger score, the writer should ensure that each paragraph builds logically upon the previous one, employing a wider and more accurate range of cohesive ties and referencing to guide the reader seamlessly through the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to communicate the basic message of the prompt. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'contemporary', 'dehydration', and 'considerably', but encounters noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form. Examples include 'do not doing there studies', 'affects on there future', and 'doing arguments'. Spelling and morphological inaccuracies, such as 'celcius', 'childern', 'sun burning', 'vaction', and 'infavour', occasionally cause difficulty for the reader and impede the precision of the argument. To improve in this area, the writer needs to expand their lexical range and pay closer attention to word forms, spelling, and natural collocations, ensuring that less common items are used accurately and appropriately within the context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic complex forms. Attempts at more complex sentence structures are often faulty, leading to frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that can cause difficulty for the reader. Notable issues include subject-verb agreement and tense inconsistencies, such as 'temperature is above 40 degree celcius', 'schools has summer vacation or schools are closed', 'whichrises', and 'schools needs to reduce'. Furthermore, prepositional usage and articles require better control, as seen in phrases like 'in europe temperature' and 'on peak summer time'. To reach the next level, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence structures with improved accuracy, paying careful attention to verb tenses, agreement, and punctuation to ensure the majority of sentences are error-free.

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