Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-27

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)

School holidays are very essential part for childrens beacuse they can relax their mind. some people believe that it is good for children and beneficial for health. others argue that there has many side effects for longer holidays. in my opinion, it is very important for childrens mental and physical health.

Some group of people believe that it is very good for childens just because of their health. during the holidays childrens are enjoying with their friends and family. Also they can spend time with family and siblings. they can go for nothern areas and seeing nature beauty. however its the only time when they can meets their czns and also relatives. for instance, me and my sisblings also go for picnic with family on holidays. long school hoildays are very effective because they can help student to reduce stess and study burden.

on the other hand, shorter school hoildays can help to maintain a regular routine. after a shorter break of holiday can help children to less likely to forgot inportant information. shorter break of holiday can help children to less interrupting education.for example, students can enjoy few week and than go back to their routine which is very good for students.

In my opinion, I believe that shorter holidays is much better than longer holidays because it can help students for less forgot their study. also it can provide short refreshment and quikly go back to their education. morever longer holidays have many side for students education.longer holidays can destory study shadule.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: the first body paragraph explains benefits of long breaks, including time with family, outdoor activities and relief from study pressure, while the next gives reasons for shorter breaks, such as maintaining routine and helping students retain information. Your final paragraph also makes your preference for shorter holidays clear. However, the discussion is uneven: the benefits of long holidays receive more examples, whereas the case for shorter holidays is mostly asserted and the point about forgetting information is not explained. Some claims, such as holidays being important for health, remain broad. Develop each argument with a clearer explanation of how it affects children and support both sides with similarly specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two sides, and a concluding opinion. This makes the main direction easy to follow. You also use signposts such as “however,” “on the other hand” and “for instance” to show contrast and give an example. At times, though, connections are mechanical or unclear. The opening paragraph moves between general claims without a clear progression, and “however its the only time” does not clearly connect to the preceding idea. The conclusion repeats the preference and reasons rather than drawing them together. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main point, then arrange explanation and example in a clear sequence; check that linking words express the intended relationship.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use a relevant set of words for the topic, including “routine,” “study burden,” “education” and “refreshment,” and the reader can generally identify your intended meaning. However, the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, particularly “shorter holidays,” “longer holidays” and “help children.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice problems, such as “stess,” “hoildays,” “forgot” where “forget” is intended, and “destroy study schedule.” Some expressions are not natural in context, including “northern areas” and “nature beauty.” These issues sometimes make the reader work to interpret your meaning. Build a more precise range of topic vocabulary and check spelling, word forms and common collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and attempts to combine ideas often contain errors. For example, “Some people believe that it is good for children … others argue that there has many side effects” has faulty sentence joining and verb construction. In “after a shorter break of holiday can help children,” the sentence lacks a clear subject, while “shorter holidays is” shows a subject–verb agreement problem. Articles, plurals and punctuation also need attention, as in “School holidays are very essential part” and the frequent sentence openings with lowercase letters. Practise building accurate complete sentences first, then add subordinate clauses and check agreement, articles and sentence boundaries.

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