Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-04

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)

It's an incredible topic to write. In many countries, educational institutions specially primary and secondary schools remain close for nearly two months and sometimes more than two months to celebrate summer.

According to me, there is no need to make the holidays shorter for the primary and secondary students.

the benefits of giving two months summer vacation are huge. At first, we need to find out the reasons behind our study. Why do we send our children to the school? We send them to learn about our society, our culture, integrity, perseverance, patience, capability to work better. We want our child learn the practical things not only the bookish knowledge. What is the value of memorising a lots of information which I can easily find out on internet? Rather we need to make them more efficient for the future world. And t doesn’t depend only on the long duration of school time rather it depends on the patter of teaching. So I think, there is no reason to make the vacation shorter.

And behind my opinion, I have another logic, in the summer vacation the students can spend their time by reading books, journals or many can go for travel and explore new place, many can show their inner creativity such as- drawing, singing or dancing. Many can cultuvate vegetables in the yard, many can do some part time job to bear their own expense. Many can even sit idle and prepare themselves for the next session. This summer vacation is actually a open domain for the students, a white piece of paper when they can do whatever they want to.

Instead of making the vacation shorter, I would rather say, we need to open or make new places for our students to work so that they can give value to the each moment of their vacation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear preference for keeping long holidays, and you offer relevant benefits, including time for reading, travel, creative activities, gardening and part-time work. However, the response only partially addresses the task: it explains the value of long holidays but does not develop the arguments in favour of shorter holidays. The opening says there is “no need to make the holidays shorter,” yet this position is not supported by considering why shorter breaks might help, such as maintaining learning routines or reducing learning loss. Several points about what schools should teach also move away from the specific question. To strengthen the response, address both questions directly and explain each main idea with a clear reason or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable progression: it introduces your view, gives reasons for long holidays, and ends with a recommendation. Paragraph breaks help separate the main stages, and phrases such as “According to me” and “Instead of” signal your position. However, the development within paragraphs is often list-like, particularly the repeated “Many can…” examples, and the connection between the discussion of school’s purpose and the holiday question is not always clear. Some linking phrases, such as “At first” and “And behind my opinion,” sound awkward or do not clearly show the relationship between ideas. Group related examples, use clearer transitions, and make each paragraph advance one distinct point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “perseverance,” “practical things,” “part time job,” and “inner creativity.” These choices help communicate your ideas, but several word choices, collocations and spelling errors make the expression less natural, as in “remain close,” “cultuvate vegetables,” and “a open domain.” Some phrases are also imprecise: “celebrate summer” does not clearly describe why schools close, while “give value to the each moment” is difficult to interpret. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your main message, but control is uneven. Aim for accurate, natural combinations such as “schools remain closed,” “cultivate vegetables,” and “make productive use of their free time,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both short statements and longer sentences with subordinate clauses, for example, “Why do we send our children to the school?” and the sentence beginning “And it doesn’t depend only…”. This shows an attempt to vary sentence structure, and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, errors in articles, agreement, verb forms and sentence construction recur: “we want our child learn” needs a verb form after “want,” “a lots of information” has incorrect number and article use, and “when they can do whatever they want to” is an incomplete construction in context. Capitalisation after full stops is also inconsistent. Practise checking each sentence for a complete clause, correct verb pattern and article use, while keeping longer sentences manageable.

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