Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-12

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)

Children who are in primary and secondary schools are not that old. It's their time to learn new stuff besides their academics . During school time it's not really possible for kids to learn new stuff as their co-curricular activity such as dance, music, drawing , karate , boxing, instruments etc. Summer holiday gives them a chance to learn them all beside studies.

Some school gives summer holiday for about 3 months or more. Kids waitnthe whole year for this holiday beacuse this is the only when they get to do anything. There's no pressure in holidays. Nothing can be learned in few days , it takes time to learn or to be an expert in something new . So, when school give them a long holiday childrens can use this chance to do some new activities.

At the same time, long holidays have some bad effects too. Children will lose their focus or interest from studying if they are away from school for so long. They might even lose some friends beacuse sometimes it gets awkward if they meet their friends after many months . Some children don't even make their holiday useful. They do nothing but use phone, which makes them addicted to their phone .

Short Holiday is quite better . It gives childrens enough time to learn something new and they get back to school on time. Childrens might not prefer this but it ain't that bad either . But some shorter holidays are sometimes doesn't give enough time to travel .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: the first two paragraphs explain how long holidays allow children to pursue activities such as music, dance and karate, while the later paragraphs give reasons for shorter breaks, including maintaining study habits and social contact. However, the discussion is only partly developed. For example, you say children may lose focus and become awkward with friends, but do not explain how shorter holidays would prevent these outcomes or provide a specific example. Your position that shorter holidays are “quite better” is clear near the end, but it is not established consistently from the beginning. Develop each argument with a clearer explanation and support, and make your overall view explicit throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable paragraph structure, moving from the benefits of long holidays to their disadvantages and then to shorter holidays. Connectors such as “At the same time” help signal a change in direction. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes loose: the point about losing friends is followed by phone use without a clear link, and the final paragraph introduces travel as a drawback without explaining how it relates to your overall position. Some references, such as “learn them all,” are not fully clear. Use topic sentences to establish each paragraph’s main point, then order supporting explanations and examples around it. More precise linking between ideas would make the argument easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “co-curricular activity,” “pressure,” “focus,” “interest” and “addicted.” The examples of activities also make the discussion concrete. However, the range is limited and several expressions are repetitive or imprecise, such as “learn new stuff,” “do anything” and “useful.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice problems, including “beacuse” and “waitnthe,” which can distract the reader. Aim for more precise academic phrasing and check spelling carefully. For instance, describe children as pursuing extracurricular interests or maintaining study habits rather than repeatedly referring to learning “new stuff.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences and use clauses to explain reasons, as in “Children will lose their focus or interest from studying if they are away from school for so long.” However, sentence structures are mostly simple, and errors occur frequently in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction. Examples include “Some school gives,” “when school give them,” and “some shorter holidays are sometimes doesn’t give enough time.” Plural forms are also inconsistent in “childrens.” These errors sometimes make the reader pause to interpret the intended meaning. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and build complex sentences with one clear main clause and a correctly formed subordinate clause.

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.