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)

As we see in different countries school often close for long term, especially in summer break they give two to three months holidays. These large break have some benefits for both childrens and parents in term of avoid hectic routine and spend time with parents while small break also have few advantages like stay connected with learning and less time to attract toward unethical activities.

The major edge point is students reduce stress after a whole year busy routine and give some time to their brain to relax. In addition, everyday they wake up in morning and start to ready for school and take their breakfast and just go to school. Students aften have very difficult curriculum which already put a lot of burden on nerves additionally daily homework and lesson for memorise also participate in it. For example, in my school i have seven day busy routine and so many books to study that why i did not get any time to go out with my family for some fun or any tour thats why these long holidays often play major role to overcome all these issues with the solution such as tour with family and spend time to learn new skills which offer in summer camps.

On the other hand, short holidays are also necessory because students not forget their previous lessons and stay engage in continuous learning because when childrens came back to school after long break they are blank. Then teachers need to repeat all lectures again this consume huge time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: the first body paragraph explains how a long break can reduce stress and give families time together, while the final paragraph argues that shorter breaks help students retain learning. The personal example about your school routine and family outings also supports the first point. However, the response is unevenly developed: the value of long holidays receives several explanations, whereas the case for shorter holidays is limited to students forgetting lessons and teachers repeating them. The opening also mentions parents and unethical activities, but these points are not explained later. Develop both sides more evenly, clarify your overall view, and support the shorter-holiday argument with another specific consequence or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph on long holidays and a contrasting paragraph on shorter holidays. Linking phrases such as “In addition” and “On the other hand” help signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within the long-holiday paragraph is difficult to follow because several points are packed into one extended sentence, especially the account of school routines, workload and your personal experience. Some connections are also unclear: the introduction raises parents and unethical activities, but the body does not develop these ideas. Use clearer sentence boundaries and organise each paragraph around a focused main point, followed by explanation and an example. This would make the overall arrangement easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “reduce stress,” “curriculum,” “burden,” “continuous learning” and “overcome.” These choices show some range beyond basic everyday language. However, inaccurate word forms, spelling and collocations are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning less clear. Examples include “large break,” “childrens,” “necessory,” “stay engage” and “blank” for students returning after a holiday. Some phrases, such as “major edge point” and “burden on nerves,” are not natural in this context. Aim for accurate, conventional academic collocations and check spelling and plural forms. More precise wording will help you express your ideas without requiring the reader to infer your meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect ideas in longer sentences, for example when explaining the daily routine and the effects of a long break, and you use some subordinate clauses. However, the range of structures is limited, and complex sentences are often difficult to control. Errors in agreement and verb forms appear in phrases such as “These large break have” and “when childrens came back”; articles and sentence construction are also inconsistent. The long sentence beginning “For example, in my school…” contains several ideas joined without clear grammatical boundaries, which makes it hard to follow. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then combine them with controlled clauses. Check subject–verb agreement, tense consistency and punctuation when editing.

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