Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-30

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 certain countries small middle and intermediate school close for two month in summer holidays. From my perspective, its beneficial for student to obtain relax from the hectic routine of school life.

On one side of the argument, it's important for students to get refreshment from the daily routine.Because child follow a basic routine of school life and it's really boring.But when they get holidays they really enjoy it and goes on several places for happiness. They spend more time with their family and get a feeling of freshness.Moreover, they can get another skills like some students know how to ride a bicycle. Some female students try to make meal for their family. Some students goes for long holidays with their families.

Despite the above argument, some other individual believe that it is harmful for students. Because these holidays effect heavily on their results. Most of the students fail due to long holidays. Futhermore, child could be adopt new routine and it's very difficult for students to turn over a previous routine.So, most of the students forget their old lesson and they again need to start from first which is really problematic. In addition to this, long holidays causes the sever injuries of students because the child could perfrom various new activites which is quite dangerous for any person.

In conclusion, the government should take action to perform several sports activities for students enjoyment. Given this situation,it is recomended that the schools can manage the summer holidays and they should need to arrange several sports activities at weekand.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both questions: it explains that long holidays allow students to rest, spend time with family and learn practical skills, and it presents arguments for shorter breaks, including disrupted study routines and possible injuries. The position is broadly supportive of holidays but also recognises their disadvantages; however, the conclusion shifts towards government-organised sports without clearly stating how this would resolve the debate about holiday length. Several claims, such as “Most of the students fail due to long holidays,” are sweeping and are not supported with explanation or an example. Develop the main points more fully and clarify the distinction between the value of long holidays and the case for shorter ones.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a recognisable structure, with an opening, two contrasting body paragraphs and a conclusion. Phrases such as “On one side of the argument,” “Despite the above argument” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the point about injuries appears abruptly after the discussion of forgotten lessons, and the final recommendation about sports does not clearly connect to the arguments about holiday length. Some linking is mechanical, and several ideas are joined with “Because” rather than being integrated into complete, clearly related sentences. Group related reasons together and use clearer references and transitions to show how each point supports the paragraph’s main idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses a basic range of topic-related vocabulary, including “hectic routine,” “refreshment,” “results” and “sports activities,” and the reader can generally identify the intended ideas. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or unnatural, as in “get refreshment,” “goes on several places for happiness,” “effect heavily on their results” and “turn over a previous routine.” Spelling and word-form errors such as “Futhermore,” “recomended” and “activites” also reduce precision. The vocabulary is repetitive, particularly around “students,” “holidays” and “routine,” and some phrases make the meaning harder to understand. Build a more reliable set of expressions for rest, learning continuity and holiday activities, checking collocations and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

There are attempts to use both simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning with “Because” and “when,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors are frequent and sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include subject–verb agreement in “child follow” and “Some students goes,” missing or incorrect articles and plurals in “for two month” and “for student,” and faulty sentence construction in “Because child follow a basic routine…” when used as a standalone sentence. Punctuation and spacing are also inconsistent, particularly around sentence boundaries. Practise forming complete sentences with subordinate clauses, and check agreement, articles and plural endings. More accurate control of these basic patterns would make the ideas substantially clearer.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.