Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-03

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)

Most of the people have different perspectives regarding long holidays in schools in many countries around the world; some argue in favor of short summer vacations, while others prefer long holidays. I strongly believe that there should be short duration of vacations in the summer in schools.

It is clear that schools should announce small number of holidays as it is beneficial for the students to get maximum amount of time and opportunity to enhance their learning and spend more time there, it will not only useful for their education but also helps them to be well organized and be efficient in every field of life. Students get tremendous opportunities to improve their education, career and other skills when they dont have long vacations. Because in school, they find good teachers to increase their knowledge, excel in studies, a good environment where equal treatment is provided to everyone and a race in which students feel themselves into in, so that they can perform better. This kind of competitions help them to move forward and lead to their growth. There are also other benefits associated in spending more time in schools; like they can be very skilled in sports and other extracurricualr activities.

One the other hand, people say that spending time in their homes in summer when they have long vacations, they can relax from hectic pressure of school, perform the activities they like to do. Some families plan trips also which is considered as an escape, but i don't find this approach fascinating. As in homes, students feel that they are free, don't consider their time is important for studies. Spending time on social media and on other things as well. So some disadvantages are associated there as they cannot focus their actual purpose of eduaction but involve in other time consuming activities.

overll, every school should limit vacations to avoid negative consequences and also make some initiatives for having extra-activities there to make school life interesting and fascinating.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall position in favour of shorter summer holidays and discuss both the benefits of more time at school and the appeal of longer breaks. Relevant points include access to teachers, a learning environment, sports and extracurricular activities, as well as rest and family trips. However, the two parts are not developed equally: the value of long holidays is mostly presented through relaxation and travel, then dismissed, rather than explained in depth. Several claims about shorter holidays—such as improving students’ careers and efficiency—are broad and would benefit from a specific example or explanation of how they work. To strengthen the response, develop the benefits of both arrangements more fully and make the comparison more balanced while retaining your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has an overall structure: an introduction states your view, the main paragraphs present arguments on each side, and a conclusion restates your recommendation. This makes the general direction easy to follow. Within paragraphs, however, ideas sometimes run together, particularly in the long sentence beginning “It is clear that schools should announce…” and the list of benefits that follows. Some links are mechanical or unclear: “One the other hand” signals contrast, but the paragraph then shifts abruptly from relaxation to social media and study habits. Use shorter, more clearly focused sentences, and make the relationship between each example and your main point explicit. Clearer paragraph development and more precise referencing would improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of relevant vocabulary, including “hectic pressure,” “equal treatment,” “competitions,” and “extracurricular activities,” and the reader can generally understand your intended meaning. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “announce small number of holidays,” “a race in which students feel themselves into,” and “extra-activities.” Spelling errors, including “extracurricualr,” “eduaction,” and “overll,” also reduce accuracy. Some expressions are repeated or vague, for example “other things” and “activities they like to do.” Aim for more precise, natural phrases and check spelling carefully; this will make your arguments clearer and give your vocabulary greater control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “when,” “because,” and “so that.” However, complex sentences are often not controlled successfully, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. For example, “it will not only useful for their education but also helps them” has faulty verb forms and parallel structure, while “One the other hand, people say that spending time in their homes…” is an incomplete construction. There are also errors with articles, agreement, and punctuation, as in “a good environment where equal treatment is provided to everyone and a race…” and the run-on sentence beginning “Spending time on social media.” Practise building complete sentences and checking verb forms and clause boundaries.

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