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)

Primary and secondary schools are basic need for students all around the world and base of students is made in these schools.Countries like Pakistan,India and Bangladesh close schools in summer holidays for two months or more.Many people spoke from different points of view for longer and shorter holidays and they also represent their arguments about it.In this essay,i will discuss both views and will provide my point of view about these.The value of long school holidays are that students do not get bored from studies and they got time for rest and to took a break from studies.They are also willing to met their relatives and family members living abroad or in far cities.From my perspective,in longer holidays students are able to do different kinds of activities and another reason is that,they get enough time for regenrating their mental health and they do not get bored from their studies.Mainly,schools are closed in summer for two months or more,the main reason for this is that,in these months heat is on its peak and for many students it could affect their health and could lead to serious health problems,due to it,schools are closed for two months in summer.

On the other hand,many people had arguments about shorter school holidays.There are right enough about it.They think that it could be disturbing for many students in studies and due to longer hoildays,their studies could be damaged and it could affect thier grades.A benefit of shorter holiday is that,students could have little rest and more time for studies.From their points of view,having shorter holidays could help students for body rest and low stress for studies and longer holidays could affect students grades in schools and they would get less time for preparation for their exams and they would not be able to get desire grades.Lets suppose,if a student gets holidays for two months from a school and during the holidays,he would be able to do different kinds of activities like going to new places,planting trees or visiting historical places and his loved ones.He would get chance to spend most of his time with his family and friends and he would become less interested in studies and due to it,he would be affecting his grades.These arethe main reasons that people had arguments in favour of shorter holidays and students would spent most of their time in studies and to got desired grades in schools which could help them in future.

To conclude,there should be balance between studies and holidays for students and all schools should arrange different activities for students,so they did not gewt bored from studies and they could be able to develop a balanced life.In this way,they would be able to score their desired scores in studies and also did not get bored from the studies and they would be able to have enough time to manage time for studies and for other activities.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and give a relevant overall view: long breaks allow rest, family visits and activities, while shorter breaks may help students maintain study routines and prepare for exams. The explanation of summer heat as a reason for extended closure is also pertinent. However, some points are repeated or not fully explained. For example, the claim that longer holidays make students less interested in study and harm grades is illustrated with a hypothetical student, but the link between holiday length and poorer results is asserted rather than clearly demonstrated. Your conclusion recommends balance and school activities, but could more directly weigh the value of each holiday pattern and state which arguments you find stronger. Develop fewer points with clearer explanation and examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate discussion of the two positions, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the other hand” and “To conclude” help signal the stages of the argument, and the ideas are generally arranged in a sensible order. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, with repeated links such as “and,” “due to it,” and “from their points of view.” The long second body paragraph combines several claims and an extended hypothetical example, making the progression harder to follow. Some references are also unclear, as in “There are right enough about it,” where the reader must infer who “they” are and what is meant. Use clearer topic sentences, divide related points, and vary linking and referencing more naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “mental health,” “preparation for their exams,” and “historical places.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “heat is on its peak.” However, the range is limited by repeated basic words such as “studies,” “holidays,” and “students,” and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward. Examples include “basic need for students,” “got time for rest,” and “desire grades”; these make parts of the argument less natural and occasionally less clear. Spelling errors such as “hoildays,” “thier,” and “regenrating” also affect the impression of control. Build a bank of accurate collocations for education and leisure, and proofread spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because” or “due to” and conditional examples beginning “if a student gets holidays.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction occur across the response. For instance, “students do not get bored … and they got time” shifts tense, while “The value … are” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The conditional example also shifts between “he would be able” and “he would be affecting,” which makes the sequence awkward. Punctuation and spacing around sentence boundaries are inconsistent. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and verb, consistent tense, and correct agreement.

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.