Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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, schools were remain closed for the two months or more than during the summer holidays.

I believed that the long holidays is benifical for the students because they get the more time for the relaxation. While the short holidays have the burden of academic progress for the students. Both statements holds a various opinion but i stronglly beleived that the holidays should be more than the 2 months for the students.

Long holidays, students get the chance of relaxation from the studies, have no study burden. This is mainly because children spent most of the year in making assignment, having the quizes and academic pressure. The benefit of the long holidays is that the students get focus on their health rather than academic pressure. Focus on building the energy. For example ,one of the benefit of the long holidays were students get the chance of having the trips to different places, having the get together with relatives and having the fun with the friends. As a result students came back to school with fresh mind.

Furthermore, there were also a advantage of short holidays. This cause the students to more dedicated towards studies, students not to forget the concept they learned in the school. Students routine were not disturbed in short holidays. For example, students who gets away from the schools they struggle to remember the concept they learned in the class.

In conclusion, long school holidays provide students with opportunities to relax and spend time with their families, whereas shorter holidays help them maintain their academic progress. Therefore, both approaches have their own benefits.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and make your preference clear: you favour longer holidays because students can relax, while shorter breaks may help them retain what they have learned. The examples of trips, family gatherings and difficulty remembering school concepts are relevant. However, the value of long holidays is developed more fully than the case for shorter ones, which is mainly limited to maintaining routines and remembering lessons. Some explanations are also unclear, such as “Focus on building the energy,” and the conclusion presents both approaches as beneficial without restating your preference. Develop each argument with a clearer explanation of its effects and keep your position consistent through the conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs on long and short holidays, and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow the two sides of the discussion. You also use linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “For example,” and “As a result.” However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For instance, “While the short holidays have the burden of academic progress” does not clearly show how the ideas relate, and the sequence “Focus on building the energy” reads as a fragment rather than a connected explanation. The conclusion also shifts from your stated preference to a balanced summary. Use clearer links between claims and explanations, and ensure each paragraph progresses from its main point to supporting detail.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “academic pressure,” “relaxation,” “dedicated,” and “academic progress,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, word-form and spelling errors make the writing less natural. Examples include “the more time for the relaxation,” “get focus on their health,” “having the get together,” and “benifical.” Repeated use of “students,” “holidays,” and “benefit” also limits flexibility. Aim to learn common word partnerships and check spelling and word forms. More precise expressions would help you explain the effects of each holiday pattern clearly without relying on repeated general terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a reason clause beginning “This is mainly because” and a contrast introduced by “whereas” in the conclusion. However, control is uneven, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “schools were remain closed” combines incompatible verb forms, while “Both statements holds” has an agreement error. “Long holidays, students get the chance” lacks a clear grammatical connection between its opening phrase and main clause. Practise forming complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check tense and singular/plural agreement. More accurate control of these patterns will make your explanations easier to understand.

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