Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-07-30
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)
Some think competing with others is good, but others believe working together is more important. In my opinion, both have advantages, but cooperation is more important.
On the one hand, competition can motivate people. When students or workers compete, they try to work harder to get better results. For example, in school, students study more to get the highest marks in exams. In companies, competition can help workers create new ideas and improve their work. Therefore, competition helps people improve themselves.
On the other hand, cooperation is essential for many reasons. First, when people work together, they can finish difficult tasks easily. For instance, in big projects, one person cannot do everything alone, so teamwork is necessary. Second, cooperation creates a friendly environment. If people always compete, they may feel stressed and have bad relationships with others. Working together helps people build good relationships and help each other.
In conclusion, competition can make people work hard and achieve good results. However, I believe cooperation is better because teamwork helps us solve big problems and live happily with other people.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response is significantly under the required word count of 250 words, reaching only 179 words. Furthermore, the content is entirely off-topic. The prompt asks about the value of long summer school holidays and arguments for shorter ones, but the essay discusses the merits of competition versus cooperation. Because the response fails to address the prompt entirely, it cannot be assessed for task development or position. This is a critical failure in task achievement, as the instructions were ignored.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
Despite being off-topic, the essay is structured with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The use of cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'First', 'Second', and 'In conclusion' provides a logical flow. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main ideas. The progression of ideas is clear, though the content itself is irrelevant to the task instructions.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary is adequate for the level, using words like 'motivate', 'essential', 'environment', and 'relationships'. However, the range is limited and repetitive, lacking the sophisticated or topic-specific vocabulary required for higher bands. There are no significant spelling errors, but the lexical choices are quite basic and do not demonstrate the flexibility or precision expected in an academic essay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5
The grammar is generally accurate, with a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are error-free, such as 'When students or workers compete, they try to work harder to get better results.' While the range of structures is somewhat limited, the control is good, and there are no errors that impede communication. The punctuation is also handled correctly throughout the text.
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