Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-07-26

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 7.0)

In today's world, summer has established and earned a reputation as the vacation season in almost every country around the world. This reputation has come with a common break of about two to three months, depending on the country, in primary and secondary schools. While long holidays have their pros, they also come with some downsides that might be in favor of shorter breaks. In this essay both options are discussed and are followed with some relevant examples.

In fact, it is undeniable that long summer holidays can benefit a lot the youth especially those who are in primary or secondary schools. By giving, during summer, time to young people on other things than education and exams, that might help them discover new hobbies and activities they might like and shape they future. Furthermore, a good rest might avoid them from falling into the education routine thus always staying engaged with it and not losing interest in it or ever feeling bored. Summer, might also help some connect more with their family. For instance student living in dorms or far from their beloved ones.

On the other hand, shorter school holidays could be overall more relevant for the youth. As it is common nowadays that young people spent most of their free time, including their summer holidays, on the internet playing video games or even on social media. Hence, harming them and leading them to losing a lot of time and energy on things that do not benefit them which could be avoided with shorter holidays. Moreover, shorter breaks can improve the overall education of students as they spend more time learning new things and grasping new concepts. As well as keep the engagement built up during the whole year and not losing it through long lasting vacations.

To conclude, it becomes clear that each of the two options carry their set of pros and cons. However, as far as I am concerned I would lean more for shorter holidays as I think they could be more beneficial to younger generations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. The position is clear throughout, particularly in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the point about students living in dorms is mentioned but not fully explained, and the argument regarding 'education routine' is a bit vague. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific, concrete examples or deeper analysis for each point raised. The essay covers all requirements of the task, but the depth of argumentation remains at a general level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. You use cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'On the other hand', and 'Hence' to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing; for example, the sentence 'For instance student living in dorms...' is a fragment that lacks a clear connection to the previous sentence. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two sides of the argument, which helps the overall flow of the essay.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'undeniable', 'engaged', and 'generations'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'benefit a lot the youth' (should be 'benefit the youth a lot') and 'long lasting vacations' (should be 'long-lasting'). Some phrasing is also slightly repetitive. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations and ensure that your word choices are natural in an English context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'avoid them from falling' (should be 'prevent them from falling'), 'shape they future' (should be 'shape their future'), and 'young people spent' (should be 'young people spend'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some awkward sentence constructions that slightly impede the flow. Increasing the variety of complex structures while focusing on subject-verb agreement and preposition usage would significantly improve your score.

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