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)

Most the the countries provide a long vecation of more than two months during summer for primary and secondary schools looking after students relaxation and stress-free education. In this contemporary society some people argue that the vecation should be shorter. In my opinion, a longer holiday will reshape and built students in different ways.

To commence with, during a long summer vecation, students usually plan a trip to different part of the world exploring differnt cultures, heritage, and trying verity of different local foods whereever they go. This helps students built character and a empathy. For instance, tarveling to different places taught students to do things on their own which probabily gives a thaught of being in someone else shoes. This is something that a educational center cannot teach and one has to move places to experience this type of privilege.

On the flip side, a shorther vecation will always comes with a holday homework for the students which are not sufficient for a student to do extracurricular activities. But a small holday will train the student not to get distracted from studies which empasizes a paramount importance to their carrier. Epitome, A winter vecation is the smallest vecation in india where most of the schools alots a holiday homework sheet to students in which more than half of the holidays were dedicated to do homework keeping students busy toward their acedemic chores and only few holdays for their relief.

In conclusion, a longer vecation will built a student in both acedemically and socially while a shorter vecation focuses more towards acedemic education ratherthan reshaping the student personality and critical thinking which he/she learns from society, that a education could never able to teach.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and maintain a clear preference for longer holidays, explaining their value through travel, cultural exposure, independence and social development. The example of students learning to manage things themselves supports this position. You also present a case for shorter breaks: students may remain focused on study, and your example of winter homework in India illustrates how holidays can be used academically. However, the value of long holidays is developed more fully than the arguments for shorter ones. The shorter-holiday discussion is partly framed as a drawback—homework leaves little time for extracurricular activities—before shifting to its academic benefit. Clarify the strongest advantages of shorter breaks and explain their effects more directly; some ideas are relevant but not fully developed or clear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each side of the discussion, and a conclusion that restates your position. Signposts such as “To commence with,” “On the flip side,” and “In conclusion” make the stages easy to follow, and the ideas generally progress logically within each paragraph. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some flexibility in linking ideas. At times, however, the connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “But a small holiday will train the student…” does not clearly resolve the preceding point about homework and extracurricular activities, while “Epitome” does not introduce the example naturally. Use more precise links between claims and evidence, and make pronoun references such as “this” or “which” unmistakable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary suited to the topic, including “heritage,” “extracurricular activities,” “critical thinking,” and “academic chores,” and you communicate the main ideas despite errors. However, the usable range is limited by repeated wording, especially “vacation,” “student,” and “holiday,” and several choices or spellings make the meaning less natural. Examples include “built character,” “a empathy,” “a thought of being in someone else shoes,” and “a paramount importance.” There are also frequent spelling errors, such as “vecation,” “differnt,” and “probabily,” which can distract the reader. Build accuracy with common collocations and check spelling carefully; aim for precise, natural phrasing rather than inserting ambitious words such as “epitome” where they do not fit.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including clauses beginning with “where” and “which,” and the overall message is usually understandable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in longer sentences, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. For example, “a shorter vacation will always comes” has incorrect verb agreement, while “where most of the schools alots a holiday homework sheet” contains agreement problems. Articles and sentence construction also need attention, as in “a empathy” and “This is something that a educational center cannot teach.” The conclusion’s “a education could never able to teach” is also grammatically incomplete. Practise subject–verb agreement, articles, and complete clause structures, then proofread each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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