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 recent years, it has become a controversial topic among parents. Mostly parents are not satisfied with the long school holidays due to many reasons, but few of them give full support to that even they are in favor to make it more longer. This essay will elaborate the both perspectives and also provides relevant example where required.

On the one hand, many people especially educated parents believe that long school holidays will gives thier children enough time to develop other skills, which will be beneficial in their future. These days schedule of students has become hectic and do not allow students to focus on other things rather than academic skills.These skills may be good to handle emotions , teach how to behave with their siblings and parents and many more. Another perspective in the favour of long school holidays is that it can ease academic pressure from them and a perfect time to tour other places or go to picnic. Consequently, many parents wait for the summer holidays then they can plan a trip for thier children and for themself. For instance, I also used to enjoy summer holidays by going to other places for exploring new things and it help to develop new social skills as well.

On the other hand, critics argue that shorter school holidays is good for students to keep their learning habits on track. As many parents observed that during the summer holidays children not open their books or learn new things in any specific subject as they do in normal days. This can be harmful in their ability to overcome the problems, they are facing in any difficult subject. For instance, many students not able to remember what they were learning and it will makes them hard to cop with that.

In conclusion, We have discussed the both point views on shorter and longer summer holidays. I firmly believe that longer summer holidays will be optimal option to keep, as we dicussed above that it will give students to learn practical skills and time to explore new things. I hopeful that all school managments should decide the summer duration with keep the student interest in mind.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both questions and gives a clear preference for longer holidays in the conclusion. The benefits identified—time to develop non-academic skills, reduced pressure and opportunities to travel—are relevant, and the personal example helps illustrate the travel point. The case for shorter holidays is also included, particularly the concern that students may lose learning habits and forget material. However, this side is less fully developed: explain more precisely how shorter breaks would maintain learning, perhaps through a comparison of learning continuity or a practical example. Some claims, such as holidays helping children learn to manage emotions, are mentioned but not explained. Developing the less-supported ideas and making the comparison between the two options more explicit would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two positions, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the progression easy to follow. Within paragraphs, however, connections can be mechanical or unclear. For example, “Another perspective in the favour…” introduces a new benefit, but the relationship between skill development and travel is not fully shaped. The sentence beginning “As many parents observed…” also runs into the next idea without a clear grammatical or logical link. Referencing such as “that” in the introduction is not immediately clear. Use more precise links between claims and examples, and ensure each paragraph develops one connected line of reasoning.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses a relevant range of vocabulary, including “academic pressure,” “social skills,” “learning habits,” and “practical skills,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “overcome the problems” and “develop other skills,” though some combinations are imprecise or repetitive. Word choice and spelling errors are noticeable in forms such as “thier,” “dicussed,” and “managments,” while phrases such as “make it more longer” and “go to picnic” are not natural English. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding the argument, but they reduce precision and fluency. Build accuracy by checking spelling and learning common collocations for education, holidays, and learning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

There is an attempt to use both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “which,” “as,” and “that,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, errors occur across verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “long school holidays will gives” should use the base verb after “will,” while “shorter school holidays is good” has a subject–verb agreement problem. In “many students not able to remember,” a finite verb is missing, and “it will makes them” combines incompatible verb forms. Some sentences also join ideas awkwardly, making the relationships harder to follow. Review auxiliary verbs, agreement, and complete clause structure, then proofread punctuation and sentence boundaries.

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