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)

In many nations, schools remain closed for over two months during summer. While extended holidays offer significant benefits for students and teachers, there are compelling arguments for reducing their length. This essay will discuss both aspects.

On the one hand, long summer holidays have several benefits. Firstly, they give students a chance to rest and learned something new .This is because students remain occupied with their studies throughout the entire academic year. Therefore the holiday vacation can refresh students and also its beneficial for students to recuperate and burnout their stress of studies. Teachers also go vacation to exhaustion their problems and mental well being. School holiday is play a vital role in students life to learned new things ,meet new peoples and travel with friends on mountain areas and also spending fulltime with family, go outside with parents this is very advantageous for students. Long holidays improve family bonding. Playing sports help in holistic development of children. Furthermore Travelling in summer gives cultural exposure for example in my holiday vacation I travel to my grandmother home. I learned many kind of things from her like reading old books and planting because my grandmother is very expert in to grow multi types of plants.

On the other hand, Short vacation is also beneficial for students because long term vacation students may forget what they learned before vacation so after vacation teachers faced very difficulties to learned students which they forget on vacation.

In conclusion, although long holidays are invaluable for rest and personal growth, shorter breaks are more practical to prevent learning loss . In my view, a balanced approach with one-month summer holidays and shorter breaks throughout the year would be ideal.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and give a clear overall view: long holidays support rest and personal growth, while shorter holidays may reduce learning loss. Relevant examples include family time, sports, travel, and learning gardening from your grandmother. However, the two sides are not developed equally. The benefits of long holidays receive several examples, but the case for shorter holidays is limited to students forgetting material and teachers needing to reteach it. Explain this point further—for instance, how shorter breaks could help students retain knowledge while still allowing time to rest. Your proposed one-month holiday is a clear position, but briefly justify why this balance is preferable to the current arrangement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on long holidays, a paragraph on shorter holidays, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the main stages easy to follow. Within the first body paragraph, however, many benefits are placed in a long sequence, so the links between rest, family bonding, sports, and cultural exposure can feel list-like. Some connections are also unclear, such as the shift from students’ activities to teachers’ holidays. Group related ideas and use clearer referencing to show how each example supports the main point. The shorter-holiday paragraph could also be expanded to create a more balanced progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “personal growth,” “family bonding,” “holistic development,” and “cultural exposure,” which helps express the topic. Some less common expressions are attempted, but several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “burnout their stress,” “go vacation to exhaustion their problems,” and “travel with friends on mountain areas.” There are also repeated general terms such as “students,” “holiday,” and “beneficial.” Aim for more precise, natural combinations and check word forms: for example, use “relieve stress,” “take a vacation to recover,” and “travel to mountainous areas.” This would make your ideas clearer and give your vocabulary greater flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a conditional explanation beginning “This is because” and a contrast introduced by “although.” The overall meaning is usually understandable, but some errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction reduce accuracy. Examples include “a chance to rest and learned,” “Teachers also go vacation,” and “Short vacation is also beneficial.” The sentence beginning “School holiday is play a vital role” also combines incompatible verb forms. Punctuation and spacing need attention, as in “new .This” and “growth . In my view.” Practise forming accurate sentences before adding complexity, especially with infinitives, past-tense examples, and singular/plural subjects.

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