Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-26

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 5.0)

Holidays play a vital role in the upskilling of the students especially in terms of soft skills. This break is the best time to boost the creativity of the students. During this time, students can relax and visit different places to explore about various things.

In many countries, primary and secondary schools close for two months or more in summer holidays. During these holidays, students are mostly occupied with the activities they most enjoy doing without any academic pressure. They can learn about new skills according to their interests at their own pace. For example students who are interested in arts and wants to learn painting, they can watch different youtube tutorials or can join a short painting course where thay can learn about various patterns. They can flexibly practice it with their own free will.

In addition to it, its the best time for students to interact with their relatives. Going out with family, exploring various places and learn about the history of various historical places. In this way they can increase their general knowledge and can think beyond classrooms. When they will explore different mechanisms from the nature, they can come to know about what they are studying in classrooms and how those things are being experienced in real time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You explain several benefits of long holidays, including relaxation, pursuing interests, spending time with relatives, and learning through travel. The painting example gives one idea some concrete support. However, the response does not address the second question: there is no argument in favour of shorter holidays, such as maintaining learning routines or reducing the need for parents to arrange childcare. The discussion of long holidays is also brief and some points are unclear or unfinished. The response contains 198 words, so it is 52 words below the 250-word minimum; 14 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. To improve, answer both questions explicitly and develop each main point with an explanation or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic sequence: it introduces the value of holidays, then gives examples involving personal interests and family travel. Paragraph breaks help separate these ideas, and phrases such as “For example” and “In addition to it” signal relationships between points. However, there is no clear overall progression towards a complete answer, particularly because the case for shorter holidays is absent. Some connections are awkward or incomplete: “Going out with family, exploring various places and learn about the history” is a fragment rather than a fully connected sentence. The repeated focus on benefits also limits development. Organise the essay around the two questions, using a separate paragraph for each and clear links between claims and supporting explanations.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for education and leisure, including “soft skills,” “academic pressure,” “general knowledge,” and “historical places.” These choices make the main topic understandable, and “explore” and “mechanisms” show attempts to express more specific ideas. However, some wording is repetitive or imprecise, such as repeated uses of “various,” “students,” and “learn.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice problems, including “thay” and “youtube,” and phrases such as “explore about various things” are not natural collocations. Aim for more precise expressions and check spelling and collocation. For example, “explore different subjects” is more natural than “explore about various things.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple sentences and longer structures, including a conditional example beginning “For example students who are interested in arts…” and a time clause beginning “When they will explore…”. The main ideas are generally understandable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, sentence boundaries, and articles are frequent enough to make some sentences awkward. For instance, “students … wants” should use a plural verb, while “Going out with family, exploring various places and learn…” does not form a complete sentence. “When they will explore” also uses an unsuitable future form after “when.” Practise building complete sentences and checking that subjects and verbs agree. Use a mix of accurate simple and complex sentences rather than extending sentences before their structure is secure.

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