Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-09

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 countries, primary and secondary schools have two or more months of summer holidays. It is valuable to have a long school vacation. However, there are several advantages of having shorter school holidays. I agree that students should get longer vacations.Thus, these things will be discussed in this essay.

In today's era, primary and secondary schools close for two months or more in the summer holidays. There are several reasons of having two or more months of summer holidays. To begin with, students get sufficient time to feel relaxed and stay calm which will improves them to focus on their studies. Additionally, students get enough time to their hobbies or passion which will helps them to build their profession with their hobbies. For instance a student was interested in cricket and he did practice in his summer holidays of two month and he got selected in state team.

On the other hand, there are several advantages of having shorter school holidays. Firstly, students will stay focused in their education if they have limited or shorter school holidays which will be a positive impact on their academic achievements. Secondly, children get enough time to plan their study and avoid any type of distractive activities and stay focused on their studies which will improves children's grades. For example if a student get one month of school holiday. Then, they will pre-plan for their future career and achieve their goals.

I believe that children should get longer vacation because they get ample time to stay relaxed and focused with their studies. Additionally, they get time to workout on their hobbies too.

In conclusion, in many countries, primary and secondary schools close for two months or more in the summer holidays. I agree that children should have two months of summer holidays. There are several aspects. Hence these things were discussed in this essay.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions by explaining the benefits of long holidays and presenting reasons for shorter ones, and your position in favour of longer vacations is stated in the introduction and conclusion. The cricket example gives one relevant illustration of how extra time can support a student’s interests. However, the ideas are only partly developed: the benefits of rest and hobbies are asserted, while the shorter-holiday argument repeats that students will focus and improve grades without explaining how shorter breaks produce this result. The example about planning a future career is also not clearly connected to the length of the holiday. Develop each point with a clearer explanation or a more specific example, and make the comparison between the two options more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two sides, a statement of your view, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “To begin with,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main sections. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, with repeated references to students staying focused and improving their studies. Some links are unclear, particularly “Then” in the shorter-holiday example and “Hence these things were discussed,” which does not add a clear concluding point. The introduction and conclusion also repeat the prompt rather than synthesising the discussion. Use referencing and linking phrases more precisely, and ensure each paragraph develops one distinct line of reasoning.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “academic achievements,” “hobbies,” “profession,” and “career.” However, the range is limited by repeated words and phrases such as “students,” “focused,” “studies,” and “summer holidays.” Several choices are imprecise or unnatural, including “reasons of having,” “distractive activities,” and “workout on their hobbies,” which can make the intended meaning less clear. Aim for more accurate collocations and vary repeated terms—for example, refer to “pupils,” “school breaks,” or “academic progress” where appropriate. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish the benefits of rest, enrichment, and continuity in learning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “which” and examples beginning with “For instance.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to affect fluency. Examples include “which will improves” and “which will helps,” where the verb form does not agree with “will,” and “if a student get,” where the verb form is incorrect. There are also problems with articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries, as in “a student was interested in cricket and he did practice” and “Then, they will pre-plan.” Practise forming accurate conditional and relative clauses, and check subject–verb agreement and punctuation when editing.

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