Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Many students enjoy long summer holidays, which usually lasts for two to three months. Some people believe that primary and secondary schools should be closed for long holidays, because it provides several benefits. While some others argue that shorter summer holidays would be more effective. This essay will discuss the value of long summer holidays and why shorter holidays will favour students.

Firstly, most of the people would like to spend more longer summer holidays, because children like to develop other skills and hobbies in this leisure time. In addition, these long summer holidays will help the students to reduce stress and improve their mental health, because studying continuously for several months leads to some mental health issues. Moreover, students can take the advantage of this free time to spend more time with families and also, they can travel to different locations to explore new cultures. For example, a student who is enjoying a long summer holiday is going to develop a particular activity such as drawing, dancing and singing into a professional hobby. Therefore, longer summer holiday improves student mental health and also develop new hobbies.

Secondly, some people argue that students in primary and secondary schools should have shorter holidays, because the extended holidays will make the students memory weak. However, these shorter holidays make students brain inactive because of long gap. Moreover, the shorter holidays help to complete the syllabus faster, and there is more time to revise thema and achieve better academic scores. In addition, these holidays make students to make the basics of the skills more stringer. Also, there will be less burden to the parents to take care of their children. The shorter holidays make the children to keep a regular habit if studying without any breaks. Therefore, shorter brakes will help the students such as regular habit of studying, better academic performance and less stress for parents.

In conclusion, long summer holidays will help the students to relieve from stress, improve mental health, and develop more hobbies, whereas shorter holidays help the students as a regular practice of studies, and achieve better academic performance.

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. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For instance, the argument regarding 'memory' in the second paragraph is slightly contradictory and under-developed. While the main points are relevant, the essay would benefit from more specific examples or a more nuanced exploration of the educational impact of holidays. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points, but the overall development remains at a standard level, fitting the criteria for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'In addition', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' are used to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive. For example, the transition 'Also, there will be less burden to the parents' feels abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as 'revise thema' (likely a typo for 'them') and the flow between sentences could be improved to create a more natural progression of ideas. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal cohesion needs more variety.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'syllabus', 'academic scores', and 'professional hobby'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'make the students memory weak', 'make the basics of the skills more stringer', and 'relieve from stress'. These errors do not impede communication, but they highlight a limited range of vocabulary. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on more precise word choices and natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('holidays, which usually lasts'), incorrect comparative forms ('spend more longer'), and awkward phrasing ('make the children to keep a regular habit'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the frequency of errors in sentence construction prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. The student should focus on mastering basic sentence patterns and proofreading for common grammatical slips.

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