Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-13

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)

Summer break for schools is common in every country. Majority of nations' primary and secondary schools often provide two or more months vacation as a summer season. This essay will highlight the advantages of this trend and also discuss the merits of shorter holidays.

There are many postive impacts of giving long school holidays, the time helps them to acquire new additional skills apart from their general education system. They can explore fields such as art or sports where they will know their instincts and this gives them maturity of setting up their goals or vision in their life. Although it would be hard to instantly decide what they want to become when they grow, but they will also have enough time to explore real world and see how to plan their goals.

Some people argue that shorter school holidays should be imposed as this will keep students to avoid any distractions from their education. Students mainly involve in habits that affect their studies and if this continues it wiil be difficult to follow up with their subjects. If less duration of holidays are given, then consistency and discipline will be be constant throughout their learning journey. For example, In India only 15 days of holidays are provided in schools and even in this time period they arrange classes for extra-curricular activities where students can upskill their program. Thus keep students more focussed and connected with their courses.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both questions: the first body paragraph explains how a long break can let students explore art and sport, while the second presents continuity and discipline as benefits of shorter holidays. However, the response is under the required 250 words, and this limits how fully you develop the ideas. The value of long holidays is mainly framed as discovering interests and goals; explaining another benefit, such as rest or family time, would broaden the answer. The shorter-holiday argument also needs a clearer explanation of how a shorter break prevents learning loss, and the India example would benefit from context or support. Your position is broadly apparent, but the points remain under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, one paragraph for each side of the question, and a concluding sentence that reinforces the shorter-holiday argument. This makes the main progression easy to follow. You also use signposting such as “Although” and “For example” to connect ideas. However, some links are mechanical or unclear. In “Although it would be hard to instantly decide …, but they will also have enough time,” the two contrast markers conflict, and “Thus keep students…” is not a complete concluding sentence. The final paragraph also shifts from avoiding distractions to extra-curricular classes without fully explaining the connection. Clearer links between each claim and its example would make the cohesion more reliable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “acquire new additional skills,” “instincts,” “consistency,” “discipline,” and “extra-curricular activities.” These choices show an effort to discuss education beyond basic terms. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which limits precision: “positive impacts” is misspelled, “know their instincts” is unnatural, and “upskill their program” does not clearly express the intended meaning. “Majority of nations’” and “as a summer season” are also awkward formulations. Aim for natural combinations such as “develop new skills,” “discover their interests,” and “take part in enrichment activities.” More accurate phrasing would help your ideas sound clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “If less duration of holidays are given…” and a concession beginning “Although…”. The main ideas are generally understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “Although …, but …” uses two competing conjunctions, and “If less duration … are given” has an agreement problem and an awkward noun phrase. In “This essay will highlight … and also discuss,” the parallel structure could be more controlled. The sentence beginning “There are many …, the time helps them…” joins two independent clauses with only a comma, while “Thus keep students…” lacks a clear subject and finite verb. Practise accurate complex clauses and complete sentence structures.

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