Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-01

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 several nations, there is a holiday in elementary and secondary schools for more than two months as a summer holiday. Holidays are extremely crucial for pupils concentration and their happiness. This essay will elucidate the value of holidays and their impact on students.

1. As we are aware, school life is full of strict rules and regulations that should be followed by learners. In this strictness, students want loopholes for their enjoyment and to live their life which is not accessible easily. For instance, schools expect their students to give them the best results without any enjoyable activities;instead, they impose pressure on their pupils.

Furthermore, learners are not provided with much time to play with their peers and to play games. They consider studies as a burden rather than enjoyable activity, that's why they do not want to learn or do their homework. In addition, they are required to do assignments and a lot of homework which they do not want. A case at that point is, if a student of grade 6 doesn't get time to play with his friends, he will get aggressive and stressed. That's why long holidays play such an important role in their life.

There are a bunch of reasons why holidays are pivotal.

They will get time to play with their peers and to spend quality time with their parents which is very significant to create a close-knit relationship with family.

However, a few parents and teachers believe that long holidays can disturb the routine of learners as they get used to living without studying that has a bad impact on their brain. The plus point is that, they disturb their routines so it becomes challenging for them to wake up in the morning for school; as a result they want to have a day off. For instance, a student who did not study for two months will be used to it. He wont try hard and even commence to make lame excuses to have another day off.

To conclude, longer holidays cause pleasure of mind to pupils and their brains a fresh start. Nonetheless, it can cause some harm as students waste most of their time. Shorter holidays are much preferable as for pupils to remain stable in academic scores.

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 uneven. The first body paragraph focuses heavily on the negative aspects of school life rather than directly explaining the 'value' of the holidays themselves. The second body paragraph is quite brief and lacks depth. While the position is clear, the arguments could be more thoroughly extended with more specific examples or logical reasoning to reach a higher band. The conclusion introduces a new opinion ('Shorter holidays are much preferable') which was not fully explored in the body, making the argument feel slightly disjointed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'for instance' and 'that's why'. The transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs is a bit abrupt, and the use of numbering (e.g., '1. As we are aware') is inappropriate for an academic essay. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs could be improved to ensure that each idea flows more naturally into the next.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'elucidate', 'pivotal', and 'close-knit', which is positive. However, there are also instances of slightly unnatural phrasing or word choice, such as 'loopholes for their enjoyment' and 'pleasure of mind'. Some expressions are a bit informal or repetitive, like 'a bunch of reasons'. To improve, the student should focus on more precise collocations and a wider range of academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('a student... doesn't get', 'they disturb their routines'), missing articles, and punctuation errors (e.g., 'activities;instead'). There are also some awkward phrasings like 'commence to make lame excuses'. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. More attention to proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would be beneficial.

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