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)

In many countries, both primary and secondary schools often give two months holidays or more than that in summer season for the students.

It helps children to be creative and gain more knowldege during this time. Some people argue that span of holidays should be shorter. This essay will disscuss value of shorter and longer school holidays.

To begin with, during this two months pupils can improve their skills. When children have short break form their studies, then they have time to travel and explore new places with family and friends, which helps to learn about different cultures,traditions and language of the particular place they travel. Therefore, this helps them to gain extra information which are not teached in the scools. Secondly, they can develop their creativity in the work they do. If children have lot of chores to do during school days, then they feel pressure and stressed due to time to complete taks in time, by having huge burden on them stops them to think differently and out of box. However, when children have time to relax they feel very active and happy, so that child brain starts thinking creatively.

One the one hand, people argue that more working days in schools helps

pupil to enhance academic results. If people have more holidays then they dont focus on eduction and complete their class syallabus with the time and they have no one to clarify the subject related doubts, which makes them to fail in the examinations. However, when people have schools then teachers make them to focus on the subjects and clarify their doubts in classroom. Therefore, then can improve their marks in the exams conducted by the instutution.

In conclusion, Having more holidays improves people overall well-being and make them feel less stressed which helps to improve personal development. It is argued that span of working days in should be more to improve academic performence.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: the first body paragraph explains how a long break can allow travel, cultural learning and creative activities, while the next presents the case for shorter holidays through continued teaching and academic progress. These are relevant points, and your conclusion restates the contrast. However, the response only partially develops the task. The value of long holidays is explained more fully than the arguments for shorter ones, and the latter paragraph focuses mainly on exam results without considering other possible benefits, such as maintaining routines or reducing learning loss. Your opening also says the essay will discuss both “shorter and longer” holidays, but does not establish a clear view of their relative value. Develop each argument with a specific example and make your overall position clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two sides and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “Secondly” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several ideas are joined into long sentences, and some links are unclear. For example, “If children have lot of chores to do during school days” shifts from the benefits of holidays to household pressure without a clear explanation of how this supports the point. “One the one hand” is also not followed by a corresponding “on the other hand” structure. Use clearer topic sentences, divide complex points into manageable sentences, and make references between ideas more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “academic results,” “different cultures,” “clarify their doubts” and “personal development.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, sometimes making the reader pause. Examples include “two months holidays,” “gain extra information,” “complete their class syllabus with the time” and “child brain starts thinking creatively.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “knowldege,” “disscuss,” “scools” and “performence.” Aim to learn common collocations for education and holidays, and check spelling carefully. More precise phrasing would make your arguments clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If children have…,” and relative clauses such as “which helps to learn about different cultures.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and frequent errors in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence construction can make meaning difficult to follow. For instance, “which helps to gain extra information which are not teached” has unclear agreement and an incorrect verb form; “pupil… helps” also needs consistent plural agreement. The sentence beginning “If people have more holidays” contains several clauses that are not controlled clearly. Practise building accurate sentences with one main idea at a time, then check subject–verb agreement, articles and verb forms before adding subordinate clauses.

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.