Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-21

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)

In several nations, schools for young children and teenagers shut down for atleast two months during the summer vacations. Holidays are essential for physical and mental health of students. This essay will discuss both the benefits of long holidays and arguments for shorter holidays.

There are several benefits for long term vacations. To begin with, rest for students and teachers because students are tired after full year of study. Moreover, long break gives them physical and mental rest and instructors also need break to perpare for next semester. Long holidays allow students to travel, visit many places. For example, In pakistan many families go to northern areas in summer, and do many other enjoyable activities in this period. Therefore, these holidays are crucial for students to release their study stress and feel relaxed.

There are some arguments in favour of shooter school holidays. Firstly, learning loss is the main argument because children forget everything in two months and when schools are reopen teacher waste one more month in revision. In long holidays, children forget their discipline and it make them lazy. short holidays keep children disciplined and active. For instance, if holidays are shorter, syllabus finish easily and no pressure on students.

In conclusion, both have their own benefits and it depends on person personality that what should they choose. If a person has a strong mind and learn everthing easily in short period and want long term vacations to release stress and visting new places. other should choose short term that keep them disciplined and active.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: the first body paragraph explains the value of longer breaks through rest and opportunities to travel, while the second gives shorter holidays’ potential to reduce learning loss and maintain routine. The Pakistan example makes the travel point more concrete. However, several ideas remain general or are not fully explained. For instance, the claim that children “forget everything” is overstated, and the link between shorter holidays and finishing the syllabus “easily” needs clearer reasoning or support. Your conclusion introduces a choice based on a person’s “strong mind,” which does not clearly follow from the discussion and leaves your overall position uncertain. Develop the benefits and arguments with more precise explanations and examples, then state a consistent conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two sides, and a conclusion. Sequencing within the body paragraphs is generally understandable, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “Moreover,” and “Firstly” help readers follow the points. However, some connections are mechanical, and a few sentences do not link smoothly to the preceding idea. The opening of the second paragraph, “There are some arguments in favour of shooter school holidays,” is unclear, while the final paragraph shifts to an individual’s choice rather than synthesising the discussion. Improve progression by making each paragraph’s main point explicit, linking explanations to examples, and using references such as “this approach” only when their meaning is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “physical and mental health,” “learning loss,” “discipline,” and “revision.” The example about families travelling to Pakistan’s northern areas also gives the response some specific language. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make the writing less natural: “shooter school holidays,” “release their study stress,” “perpare,” and “visting.” Some expressions are also imprecise, such as “children forget everything” and “strong mind.” Aim for more accurate collocations and a wider range of terms for learning, rest, and school routines. Proofreading spelling and choosing precise phrases will make your ideas clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, including a reason clause in “because students are tired after full year of study” and a conditional example beginning “if holidays are shorter.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors occur across the response. Examples include the incomplete construction “To begin with, rest for students and teachers,” the agreement error in “when schools are reopen,” and “it make them lazy.” The conclusion also contains sentence-boundary and capitalisation problems, particularly “other should choose short term.” Work on complete sentence structure, subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation. Revising each sentence for a clear subject and verb would improve accuracy while allowing you to retain your range of ideas.

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