Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-07-29

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)

Long holidays are common feature of education system in many countries. While extended breaks provide several important benefits for students and teachers, some people believe that shorter holidays would lead to better academic outcomes. This essay will discuss both perspectives.

To begin with, long holidays offer considerable value in terms of students' physical and mental well-being. After months of studing, children need sufficient time to relex, recover from academic pressure and return school with refresh mind and motivation. In addition, long vacation allows them to spend quality time with their parents and loved once through travelling or participating in various activities, which strenghens family relationships. Furthermore, children purssued different kind of hobbies, devlop practical skills and playing sports rather than focusing solely on schools and exams.

On the contrary, there are several aruguments i favour of shorter school holidays. A lenghty break may cause student to forget part of what they have learned, making difficult for teachers for teaching basics. At the same time, shorter holidays would reduce this learning loss and encourage continuity in education. Moreover, parents who work full-time often face difficulties arranging childcare during extended vacations. A shorter break reduce would this burden while ensuring that children remain engaged in schools. Finally, maintainig balance between breaks and acdamics should help parents and children.

In conclusion, although long summer vacation are valuable because they promote relaxation, family bonding and personal devlopment. On the other hand shorter holidays are supported consistancy and minimise leaning loss. Therefore, education system have to balances rest and continuity learning to get effective results.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The essay addresses both parts of the prompt: the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. The position is clear throughout, and the ideas are relevant. However, the development is somewhat superficial. For example, while you mention 'learning loss' and 'childcare difficulties', these points could be expanded with more specific examples or deeper analysis to reach a higher band. The conclusion is a bit repetitive and contains a sentence fragment ('On the other hand shorter holidays are supported consistancy...'). Overall, you have covered the requirements well, but more depth in your supporting arguments would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. You use cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'In addition', 'Furthermore', and 'On the contrary' to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with sentence structure that affect the flow, particularly in the conclusion. The referencing is generally clear, but the final paragraph lacks a smooth connection between the two opposing ideas, making the summary feel a bit disjointed. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the overall cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'academic pressure', 'continuity', and 'personal development'. However, there are several spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'studing', 'relex', 'purssued', 'devlop', 'aruguments', 'acdamics', and 'leaning'. These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable, though they do not impede communication. To improve, focus on proofreading for common spelling mistakes and try to incorporate more precise collocations to move beyond a basic level of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'Long holidays are common feature' (missing article), 'return school with refresh mind' (incorrect adjective form), and 'education system have to balances' (subject-verb agreement). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the sentence structure in the conclusion is problematic, specifically the fragment 'On the other hand shorter holidays are supported consistancy'. These errors occur frequently, though the meaning remains clear. Focusing on basic grammatical accuracy and proofreading for articles and verb forms will help improve your score.

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