Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-22

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)

Summer holidays are essential for students because they can relax and enjoy the summer vacations at home. Primary and higher educational institutions are closed for two months in many countries, there have some positive points for long school holidays.While some poeple argue that school holidays might be shorter. I discuss both views and give relevant arguments about these statements.

On the one hand, long school holidays provide relaxation and recharge the energy to the students. They can enjoy quality time with their parents and feel relaxed after the hectic regular schedule. One other benefit is that, they stay away from the bad temperature of the summer and stay well-being at home. For instance, if they spend time at home, they can stay active and feel more energetic and one more thing, they develop new skill at home by the use of socail media. Therefore, long school vacations provide more facilities to students and they can spend time with yourself choices.

On the other hand, some indiviuals argue that shorter school holidays are more beneficial for students because if they spend more time in institutions, they can gain more knowledge of their field. Shorter holidays have aware students to keep focus on study and student are waste less time in their study. For example, if students have less vacations, they can focus on their study and perform well in study and asin high grades.

In conclusion, Long school holiday provides more facilities to the students and give some time to relax form their regular schedule. They can enjoy and spend time with their families. In contrast, if institutions provide shorter school holidays, students can gain more knowledge and most aware about their study.They spend more time in their study.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions and present a consistent comparison: long holidays allow students to rest and spend time with family, while shorter breaks may give them more study time. These are relevant points, and the examples about relaxing at home and focusing on school help illustrate them. However, the discussion is only partly developed. The value of long holidays is mostly described as relaxation, while the claim that shorter holidays improve knowledge and grades is repeated rather than explained with a clear mechanism or specific example. The point about avoiding “bad temperature” is also unclear. To strengthen the response, explain how rest benefits learning and how shorter breaks might reduce the loss of study routines, then support each point with a precise example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, one paragraph for each position, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the comparison easy to follow. Within paragraphs, however, ideas sometimes move abruptly or repeat, particularly the claims that students with shorter holidays can focus on study and perform well. Some linking is mechanical, and a few references are unclear, such as “one more thing” and “they” in the first body paragraph. The conclusion also restates the main points without bringing them together. Improve progression by giving each paragraph a clear main claim, explaining it, and then adding one relevant example; use pronouns only when their reference is unmistakable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “school holidays,” “relaxation,” “regular schedule,” and “gain more knowledge.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “hectic regular schedule,” but several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make the language noticeably imprecise. Examples include “bad temperature,” “stay well-being,” “spend time with yourself choices,” and “shorter holidays have aware students.” Misspellings such as “poeple,” “socail,” and “indiviuals” further reduce accuracy. Build a more reliable range of natural phrases for discussing education and rest, and check spelling carefully. Prefer precise expressions such as “extreme summer heat,” “maintain focus,” and “spend time pursuing their own interests.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional example beginning “if they spend time at home” and a contrast introduced by “While.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and frequent errors in sentence construction, agreement, articles, and punctuation sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “Primary and higher educational institutions are closed for two months in many countries, there have some positive points” joins two clauses incorrectly; “shorter school holidays are more beneficial … because if they spend more time” is also awkwardly structured. Other examples include “student are waste less time” and the missing punctuation after “study.” Practise forming complete clauses and checking subject–verb agreement, then use full stops to separate ideas rather than joining them with commas.

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