Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

In countries across the world , primary and secondary schools are closed for the duration of two months or even more in the summer vacations . The question is whether the long school holidays are even beneficial ? and that whether school holidays should be should be limited in number.

The benefit of long school holidays is that it helps a young student recharge and relieve the stress which may have been caused by a number of reasons like rigorous studying for exams ,lack of time available to give to etc. This is especially important for a young primary or secondary student whose brain isn't really designed to handle such stress , a proper long vacation would lead to students performing better in schools afterwards as they comeback after spending quite sometime in a relaxed environment and can also plan for how to manage studies as they have ample amount of free time. Furthermore they can focus on vocational activities like reading books, exploring different creative ideas and relaxing activities like pottery, gardening which helps a young person to develop their soft skills and expand their horizons which will benefit them as they grow old in the future.

However, many are in favor of shorter school holidays because it helps a young student to not go off track and still maintain discipline as they are aware that their schools start in a shorter period of time allowing the students to revise their school work as well as take time and enjoy doing activities they love helping to maintain a balanced approach rather than going for holidays for a long stretch of time

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 of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention 'recharging' and 'vocational activities,' these points could be expanded with more specific examples or deeper analysis to reach a higher band. The introduction is slightly repetitive and lacks a clear thesis statement outlining your position. To improve, ensure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and provides more substantial support for the arguments presented, ensuring the response feels fully developed rather than just a list of points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into three paragraphs, which is a logical structure. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore' and 'However' to transition between ideas. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and punctuation errors, such as the question marks used in the introduction ('...beneficial ? and that whether...'). The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the connection between sentences could be smoother. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that your punctuation does not interrupt the logical progression of your arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'rigorous,' 'vocational,' and 'expand their horizons.' However, there are some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'give to etc.' and 'go off track.' The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. To improve, try to incorporate more academic collocations and avoid informal phrasing. Ensure that you are using words in their correct context to convey your meaning more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('schools start in a shorter period of time'), punctuation errors (unnecessary spaces before punctuation marks), and awkward sentence construction ('...lack of time available to give to etc.'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the overall clarity. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and work on constructing more complex sentences with correct punctuation.

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