Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-11

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)

Elementary and high school students are given summer holidays for two months or more in many countries. There are several reason on why long holidays is important. However, there are some people supporting shorter holidays over long holidays.

Long holidays have many several benefits for students, such as to give them rest and to fresh their mind. Homework and task are sometimes contributing to students' mentality and causing stress. For example, many students were given tasks to do at school, and also given homework when the class was over. Furthermore, some of them came back with creative and critical thinking. Hence, the role of long holidays are crucial to students mental health.

On the other hand, they who support shorter holidays are parents who worried and anxious about some of the children are only being lazy at home. Many students are playing games and do not want to do physical activities outside the house or productive activities. Therefore, shorter holidays are also considerable to prevent lazyness amongst the students.

In conclusion, while long holidays play as an important role to provide rest and to relax students mind, it is also considerable to prevent unproductivity by providing only short holidays.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both questions: you explain that long holidays allow students to rest and reduce stress, and you present parents’ concerns about inactivity as an argument for shorter breaks. However, the response is under the required 250 words, and this limits how fully you can develop the ideas. The benefits are asserted rather than clearly explained: for instance, “some of them came back with creative and critical thinking” is not connected to a specific example or explanation. The case for shorter holidays is also narrow, focusing mainly on laziness rather than other possible benefits. Your overall position is understandable, but the conclusion mostly repeats the points instead of weighing them. Add developed examples and explain each argument’s value.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, one paragraph on the value of long holidays, one on shorter holidays, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “However,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the shift between the two sides. Within paragraphs, though, the progression is sometimes unclear. The example about students receiving homework does not fully explain how holidays improve their wellbeing, and “Furthermore” introduces creative thinking without a clear link to the preceding point. Some connections are also mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “Therefore” and “Hence.” To strengthen cohesion, make each paragraph’s main claim explicit, then connect the explanation and example directly to that claim.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “mental health,” “stress,” “creative and critical thinking,” and “physical activities.” These choices make the main ideas understandable, but the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive. For example, “fresh their mind” is not a natural expression, “many several benefits” is redundant, and “prevent lazyness” uses an incorrect spelling and an awkward phrase. “Unproductivity” is also less natural here than a phrase describing unproductive behaviour. Aim to use precise, natural collocations and vary repeated words such as “students” and “holidays.” The vocabulary suggestions below offer alternatives that fit this topic and an academic essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrastive opening with “while” and a cause-and-effect sentence beginning “Therefore.” However, errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or difficult to interpret. Examples include “There are several reason on why long holidays is important,” where the plural noun and subject–verb agreement are incorrect, and “parents who worried and anxious,” which is missing a suitable verb form. In “some of the children are only being lazy,” the clause structure is also unclear. The conclusion’s “students mind” needs a possessive form. Practise accurate agreement, verb forms, and clause construction, then proofread each sentence. More reliable control of these basics will let you use complex structures more effectively.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.