Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-06

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 6.0)

More and more countries have their elementary and high schools being closed for two or months during summer vacation. On one hand people believe that students should have a long break in the summer, while others claim that this vacation should be short.

Summer holidays are the optimal time for schools to get their buildings mentained. Many schools adminstrations take the advantage of three months starting from june till september to fix many facilities, such as bathrooms, classrooms desks, and students' library. In addition, teachers need this time to prepare for the next semester. Some curriculums are improved or updated after the finshing the semester. As a result, teachers get training to adapt with the new syllabus and to prepare new class presentations for the students.

Many parents believe that when their kids have a long break from school, they forget what is tought to them during summer. For instance, in Egypt, the summer vacation is long as it lasts for four months making students specially, in primary schools forget about what they have learnt. Moreover, Schools do not provide summer activities forcing pubils to be isolated from the education system. As a result, when students return to school, teachers find it hard to build on previous knowledge in order to teach them advanced classes.

To conclude, summer holidays are important for schools to get prepared for the following new class year and for teachers to cope with updated curriculums. However, very long isolation from school in summer hurts students' previous knowledge specifically when there are no school activities during summer. In my opinion, summer vacation is crucial for students but it is important for them not to be fully isolated from education system.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both questions and gives a relevant overall view: long holidays allow schools and teachers to prepare, while shorter breaks could help students retain learning. The examples about building maintenance, teacher training and the four-month holiday in Egypt support these points. However, the value of long holidays is explained mainly through institutional preparation; the benefits to students themselves, such as rest or family time, are not explored. The case for shorter holidays is clearer, but the claim that pupils become isolated is not fully explained or supported. Your conclusion gives a balanced position, though it could state more directly what balance you recommend. Developing these less complete ideas with specific reasoning would make the response more fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two sides, and a conclusion. The progression within paragraphs is generally logical, and linking expressions such as “In addition,” “Moreover” and “As a result” help show how ideas relate. This already gives the reader a coherent route through the argument. To make cohesion more flexible and precise, avoid relying on the same cause-and-effect pattern and clarify references where needed. For example, “this vacation” in the introduction could refer more explicitly to the summer break, while “the following new class year” in the conclusion is awkwardly phrased. A more direct transition between the benefits of long holidays and the case for shorter ones would also strengthen the overall flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “facilities,” “curriculums,” “syllabus,” “isolated” and “previous knowledge,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “build on previous knowledge.” However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision: “mentained,” “adminstrations,” “finshing” and “pubils” are misspelled, while “adapt with” and “classrooms desks” are unnatural combinations. Some wording is also imprecise, such as “advanced classes” where you appear to mean more advanced material. Proofreading spelling and learning common collocations would make your vocabulary more accurate and natural, while retaining the useful range already shown.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes both simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses with “when” and “in order to,” and most ideas remain understandable. Some grammatical errors occur, particularly in longer sentences. For example, “More and more countries have their elementary and high schools being closed” uses an awkward construction; “students specially, in primary schools forget” has misplaced punctuation; and “after the finshing the semester” has an incorrect article and structure. There are also issues with articles and prepositions in phrases such as “from education system” and “adapt with the new syllabus.” Aim to make complex sentences more controlled, check article use and sentence punctuation, and read each sentence aloud to identify missing or misplaced grammatical elements.

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