Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-14

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)

It is generally argued that summer holidays for schools must not be long as most countries close their schools for 2 or more months. Whereas the value associated with elongated schools holidays are much more in favor of the educational institutions. While many poeple argue that shorter schools holidays help students to not loose focus on their studies and stay motivated.

The major value primary and secondary school holidays provide I believe is for the schools own sole benefit. They get time to repair schools, hire new teachers, maintain or upgrade their study courses and also prepare the upcoming year. While its not only that schools be benefitted by the holidays but students also avail their holidays by joining summer camps, sports classes while some take tutions for the upcoming educational session.

But as observed that two or months of holidays distract the focus of children from studies when they finally start enjoying the freedom of time where thay can do anything they want, without any educational burden such as assignment deadlines, test dates, and yearly exams. But when it comes to the day when schools resume, those children who have enjoyed their vacation the most tend to stay back at home showing lack of interest for going to school.

It is also adviced that instead of closing schools for 2 months at once, the vacations must be divided in 2 sessions, the first half of the year that is in the summers. Next in the second half of the year, winters. Because in my experience winters in many countries get harsh, therefore the primary and secondary institutions should provide atleast a month of holidays during that time.

To conclude we can say that where 2 or months of vacations are valuable for the children but they are more of benefit for the instituitions as they get time to prepare for their upcoming year. But, so long school holidays generally hold no value when given at once instead a better approach is dividing the 2 months for peak summer and winter seasons respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and present a clear overall view: long holidays give schools time to prepare and allow students to pursue activities, while shorter or divided breaks may help maintain study habits and accommodate harsh winters. These are relevant points, and the personal reference to winter conditions gives the final proposal some support. However, the value of long holidays is framed mainly as a benefit to institutions, so the benefits to students are less fully explained. The case for shorter holidays is also developed mostly through loss of focus and reluctance to return, without considering other possible advantages or explaining how a shorter schedule would work. Develop each side more evenly and support the proposed split with a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction through benefits, drawbacks, a proposed alternative and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and phrases such as “But” and “To conclude” signal transitions. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the opening sentence contrasts positions without clearly stating your own, and the third paragraph shifts from children enjoying freedom to refusing to return without a smooth explanation. Some linking is mechanical or unclear, including “But as observed that” and “where 2 or months of vacations are valuable.” Make the relationship between each claim and its explanation explicit, and use clearer references and transitions rather than relying mainly on basic connectors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “educational burden,” “assignment deadlines,” “maintain or upgrade,” and “harsh.” There are also attempts at less common wording, such as “elongated” and “avail,” but these are not always natural in context. Several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems reduce precision: “schools holidays,” “loose focus,” “tutions,” “instituitions,” and “schools own sole benefit” make parts of the response less fluent to read. The range is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, but phrasing is often repetitive, especially around holidays, schools and benefits. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling; vary repeated terms with precise alternatives such as “extended break” or “school facilities.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “While” and a conditional time clause beginning “when they finally start enjoying.” However, complex sentences are often not controlled successfully, and errors occur across the response. For example, “Whereas the value associated with elongated schools holidays are” has an incomplete contrast structure and subject–verb disagreement, while “But as observed that” is not a complete grammatical clause. Other examples include “schools resume” after “those children,” where the sentence’s meaning and structure become tangled, and “where 2 or months of vacations are valuable,” which is difficult to parse. Use shorter, complete sentences when needed, then check agreement, articles, and clause boundaries. More accurate control of these structures would improve clarity.

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