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)

It is certainly true that in many nations, primary and secondary schools remain close for as long as a period of two months in summer vacations. One one side, this trend have a good impact on the sustainable growth of juveniles , it also impacts the children in a range of situations which shall be discussed in the following paragraphs.

Longer vacations plays an important role in the overall growth of a child. Firstly, it provides a change to a fixed routine of a young child which causes a sense of boredom in the daily routine. Secondly, longer vactaions gives an ample of time for the students to focus on the extra curriculum activities like sports, music, drawings etc. In one of the famous journels in U.S, an article was published by one of the renowned psychologist, which stated the report on the children aged between 13-22. The report showcased the result that 70% of the national athletes are the ones who tend to learn the sports professionally during their summer vacations.

On the contrast, longer vacations also impact the academic results of a juvenile. The longer holidays put a gap between the continuity of a learning process. A recent survey conducted on the parents in India reported that parents find it difficult for their children to revive the previous academic learnings after a long period of holidays. In addition to that, parents also complain that as a parent of a child, one of them have to leave their professional carrier as they have to take care of their wards at home during the long summer vacation which provieds a financial toll their family.

To summarise, it is fruitfull to provide long summer holidays to the juvines for their hollistic growth, but it should be the responsibility of the school to provide extra curricullar activities to the children during that time so that it not only give benefits to the children but also to the parents as they longer need to quit their jobs to take care of their children during vacations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: the first body paragraph explains how longer breaks allow children to escape routine and pursue activities, while the second presents concerns about learning continuity and parents’ work. Your position is broadly clear in the conclusion, which supports long holidays but recommends school activities during the break. However, the value of long holidays is developed more fully than the case for shorter holidays. The second paragraph mainly describes disadvantages of long breaks and does not clearly explain how shorter holidays would solve them or what benefits a shorter calendar offers. The examples about athletes and Indian parents are relevant, but their connection to the claims could be explained more carefully. Develop both sides more evenly and make the comparison explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two contrasting body paragraphs and a conclusion. Sequencing within the paragraphs is generally understandable, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “In addition to that” help readers follow the points. However, some transitions are inaccurate or awkward, including “One one side” and “On the contrast,” and the introduction promises a discussion of impacts without clearly setting out the position. The conclusion introduces a proposal about schools providing activities that is not fully developed in the body. Some references, such as “it” in the final sentence, are not entirely clear. Use more precise transitions and ensure each paragraph develops a distinct point that leads logically to the conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “overall growth,” “continuity of a learning process,” “academic results,” and “financial toll.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the response is not limited to very basic language. However, inaccurate word choice, collocation and spelling are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning less natural: “remain close” should be “remain closed,” “a change to a fixed routine” is awkward, and “extra curriculum activities” is not the usual expression. There are also repeated misspellings, such as “vactaions,” “journels,” and “fruitfull,” which weaken control. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and proofread spelling; a smaller set of well-controlled topic phrases would be more effective than ambitious but imprecise wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple statements and attempts at longer, more complex sentences, for example the sentence beginning “The report showcased the result that…” and the final sentence with “so that.” This shows some range, and the main message is generally understandable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction recur. For instance, “this trend have” should be “this trend has,” “Longer vacations plays” should be “Longer vacations play,” and “one of them have to leave” should be “one of them has to leave.” The opening sentence also joins two independent ideas with a comma. Work on subject–verb agreement and divide long sentences or connect their clauses with accurate punctuation. More consistently controlled complex sentences would improve clarity.

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