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)

Vacations are very necessary for the well-being of the students. In numerous countries, summer vacations are more than two months in primary and secondary institutes of the state. There are various pros and corns for this statement.

To commence, I talk about the advantages of long-term vacations. First of all, long school holidays are very necessary for the pupils because childrens are less careful. In summer it is very hot. It may results in dehydration and may cause a long term damage to the students. Additionally, more holidays means more entertainment. They can visit their all relatives house during this period of time. Furthermore, these vacations help the students to get relax very well. If they get relaxed in a good way they will pay full heed to their studies as well as in their household chors.

Now, I explain the disadvantages of long vacations. Firstly, if the students are given more holidays it is a great loss in their studies. They may loss their masks in the annual exam. Secondaly, it is a financial loss of the parents because in our country institutes demands fees even if the school is closed. Moreover, the students become lazy if they remain unattached with the schools over a long period of time.

To put it in a nutshell, I contend that holidays must be shorter than two months because all the families are not financially stable. Therefore, they cannot pay the dues of their childrens. They must be in an accurate number. In this way, their studies remains the same and not be effected.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions by explaining benefits of longer breaks—avoiding heat-related health problems, visiting relatives and relaxing—and giving reasons for shorter holidays, including maintaining study habits and reducing the burden of fees. Your final view that holidays should be shorter is also clear. However, the discussion is only partly developed: for example, the claim that pupils may lose marks is not explained, and the fee argument focuses on parents’ costs rather than clearly showing why shorter holidays would help. Some points, such as household chores, are not closely connected to the value of holidays. Develop fewer ideas with specific explanations or examples, and make the comparison between the two holiday lengths more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on the value of long holidays, a paragraph presenting arguments for shorter holidays, and a concluding opinion. Sequencing phrases such as “First of all,” “Additionally,” and “Moreover” help readers follow the points, and the two main sides are separated clearly. This meets the lower-band expectation of an organised response and shows some features of stronger progression. However, the linking is sometimes mechanical, particularly with repeated “Firstly” and “Furthermore”-type transitions, and the conclusion introduces the financial point again rather than synthesising the discussion. Use clearer links between cause and effect, and ensure each paragraph develops a central idea rather than listing separate claims.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “dehydration,” “annual exam,” “financial loss,” and “studies.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable word-choice, collocation, word-form, and spelling errors make parts difficult to interpret. Examples include “pros and corns,” “pay full heed,” “household chors,” and “loss their masks,” where the intended meaning is unclear or the expression is unsuitable. “Get relax” and “relatives house” also show weak control of natural phrasing. Build a more reliable set of expressions for discussing education, health, family costs, and learning continuity, and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “If they get relaxed … they will pay…” and a reason clause beginning “because.” This gives the response some variety, but control is inconsistent: errors occur frequently and can make meaning harder to follow. For example, “It may results” has incorrect verb agreement, “childrens are” has a plural-form problem, and “their studies remains” does not agree in number. The final sentence, “their studies remains the same and not be effected,” also lacks a clear parallel structure. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, verb forms after modal verbs, and complete, parallel clauses; then proofread each sentence for these patterns.

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