Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-07-25

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 6.5)

There are many countries in the world where the summer holidays are about two to three months. I think it is ok to close schools in the scorching heat especially in the months of June and July. In the many countries of Asia and Europe, there is a intense heat season and the students of primary and secondary schools can not bear this easily. In my country Pakistan, the students get vacations for 2 to 3 months mainly from 1st June to 14 August. The long school holidays play an essential role in the life of students. In these holidays, Students can easily focus on their hobbies and co-curricular activities. In addition, in my holidays at college, My college faculty arranged Sports Gala. This is a blessing for the students who are interested in sports and games. However, there are some schools in the world that gave only short holidays. They should be focus on the health of the students. The main reason why they gave short holidays is incomplete syllabus. They want to complete their syllabus on time and want to utilize the remaining time in the revision and the test series of students. Moreover, there are some schools which open campus for only weak students. They established a Summer camp for such students. To sum up the discussion, I would like to add that the schools should be closed for two months in the dangerous heat of summer and if needed the school's faculty can offer online classes to students for the completion of their syllabus. In this way, E-learning should also be promoted.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. However, the development is somewhat limited. While you mention hobbies and sports as benefits, these points are not fully explored. Similarly, the arguments for shorter holidays focus primarily on syllabus completion, which is a relevant point, but it lacks depth. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your ideas with more detailed explanations or specific examples. For instance, you could discuss the impact of long breaks on learning retention or the socioeconomic benefits of shorter terms for working parents. The position is clear, but the overall development remains somewhat superficial.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is generally coherent, and the ideas follow a logical progression. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'However', and 'Moreover' to link your points. However, the paragraphing is problematic; the essay consists of one very long block of text, which makes it difficult to follow the transition between the two main parts of the prompt. To improve, you should use clear paragraph breaks to separate the introduction, the benefits of long holidays, the arguments for shorter holidays, and your conclusion. Additionally, some referencing is slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother with more varied linking words.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'co-curricular activities', 'syllabus', and 'E-learning'. There are some instances of slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'intense heat season' and 'gave only short holidays' (should be 'give'). While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, it lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. You tend to repeat basic words like 'holidays' and 'students' frequently. To improve, try to incorporate more synonyms and topic-specific collocations to demonstrate a more flexible and sophisticated command of the language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you successfully use some complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'schools... that gave' instead of 'give') and article usage (e.g., 'in the dangerous heat'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some unnecessary capitalization (e.g., 'Students', 'My college') and spacing issues. These errors do not generally impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic tense consistency and article usage would significantly improve your accuracy.

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