Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-01

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 many countries , schools remain closed for two or more than two months during the summer holidays.Some people believe that it is

beneficial to have long holidays , while others support the idea of shorter holidays.

Long school holidays can be beneficial for students in many ways.Firstly, they don't have to worry about the completion of their assigments by their teachers.Secondly, they would have much time to play and watch televisions with their friends or parents.Moreover,students would have the plenty of time to spend with their parents and they can learn various types of skills .Students don't feel stress and anxiety if they have long school holidays.For instance, students can visit somewhere with their parents and experience new things in their lives.

On the other hand, shorter school holidays have some advantages. Some students find it difficult to get in touch with their studies if they have a long pause in the form of long holidays.Additionally, students can keep their mind busy with their studies and it will help them not to forget the information that they have learnt already.It also help their working parents to take care of their children during the shorter holidays throughout the year.

In conclusion, long school holidays are valuable beacuse they allow them to relax and enjoy different activities.However, shorter holidays also fruitlful for the students to maintain their learning process and support working parents.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions and present relevant points: long holidays allow students to relax, spend time with family, and try new activities, while shorter breaks may help them retain learning and assist working parents. However, several ideas are only briefly stated. For example, the point about assignments is unclear, and the benefits of family time and skill development would be stronger with explanation or a specific example. Your conclusion summarises both sides, but the response does not fully develop the discussion. It is also 18 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to explain and support your ideas. Develop each main point with a clear reason and an example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, one paragraph for each position, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “Firstly,” “Moreover,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the shift between ideas. However, the first body paragraph presents several benefits in a list-like sequence, with limited explanation of how they connect. Some links are also unclear, particularly the sentence about not worrying about “the completion of their assignments,” which does not clearly explain the value of a long break. Improve progression by grouping related benefits and using pronouns or linking phrases with clear references. This would make the organisation feel less mechanical while preserving the effective paragraph structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “stress and anxiety,” “shorter school holidays,” and “maintain their learning process.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “get in touch with their studies,” although this is not the most natural collocation in context. Noticeable spelling and word-choice errors include “assigments,” “beacuse,” and “fruitlful,” while phrases such as “watch televisions” and “the plenty of time” are awkward. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall argument, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for discussing education, rest, and learning continuity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some longer structures, including a conditional-style explanation with “if they have a long pause” and a relative clause in “the information that they have learnt already.” The main meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “It also help” needs subject–verb agreement (“helps”), and “they can learn various types of skills” shifts the subject from students to an unclear “they.” Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention: “have the plenty of time” is not grammatically formed, and several sentences run directly into the next without a space after the full stop. Practise checking agreement, articles, and punctuation, while varying sentence patterns accurately.

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