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)
Primary and secondary schools are being off during summar breaks for two months or more in most countries. Certainly there are quite some strong reasons for this long holiday period. Some might agree with the benefits of long holidays and some might disagree. In my opinion the value of long school break is quite significant and worth mentioning.
Many students gets time to live life, complete the assignments with time in hand. Students can use that free time to enjoy vacation, learn new things and do other activities like swimming, driving,cooking etc. This can help one to experience life skills which is a fundamental thing to life. Also this break gives students to spend quality time with their parents and family. As humans we need human connections to stay healthy. A good mental health can increase the productivity of a student.
If there were no summer break or holiday,then students would have gotten tired and sick of hot weather. And a sick student cant attend school peroperly neither can learn properly. Also they would be exhausted by academic pressure and same continuous routine. As humans,we need to take rest and recharge ourselves. Summer Holiday give us that chance to recharge ourselves from daily school life.
Some arguments suggests that long holiday break can detach a student from decipline. A shorts holiday is good time for getting refresh and recharged mentally from monotonous routine life and get some experiences in life. In my opinion completing academic level in certain time is mandatory, so shorter school holidays balance the timeline.
In conclusion, in some cases shorter holiday is needed but long summer holidays hold significant importance to shape a student's life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address both questions and maintain a clear preference for the value of long holidays. The benefits you identify—time for family, life skills, rest, and recovery from academic pressure—are relevant, and you also mention the counterargument that long breaks may weaken discipline. However, the two parts are not developed equally: the value of long holidays receives several points, while the case for shorter holidays is mainly reduced to maintaining discipline and completing the academic year on time. Some claims, such as students becoming sick in hot weather without a break, would benefit from clearer explanation or a specific example. Develop the shorter-holiday arguments further and support each main point with a concrete illustration.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, paragraphs on the benefits of long holidays and shorter breaks, and a conclusion. Ideas generally follow a sensible order, and transitions such as “Also,” “If there were no summer break,” and “In conclusion” help signal movement between points. However, progression is sometimes loose: the paragraph beginning “If there were no summer break” continues the case for long holidays, while the next paragraph shifts to shorter holidays without clearly setting out that contrast. Some linking is mechanical, and references such as “this break” and “that chance” could be more precise. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each paragraph explicitly to one of the two questions.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “academic pressure,” “quality time,” “mental health,” “monotonous routine,” and “recharge,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more specific expressions such as “life skills.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “live life,” “complete the assignments with time in hand,” and “a shorts holiday.” Spelling errors such as “decipline” and “peroperly,” along with inconsistent forms such as “summer Holiday,” reduce precision. Aim for natural academic collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully; this will make your ideas clearer and more fluent.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You use both simple statements and some more complex forms, including the conditional “If there were no summer break” and the clause “which is a fundamental thing to life.” The main meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “Many students gets” has subject–verb disagreement, and “This break gives students to spend” uses an incorrect verb pattern. There are also issues with articles, plurals, and sentence punctuation, as in “A good mental health” and “Summer Holiday give us.” Review agreement and verb patterns, and proofread spacing after commas and full stops. More accurate control of these structures would strengthen the response.
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