Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-02

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 the conclusion introduces a new opinion ('Shorter holidays are much preferable') that was not fully supported or balanced in the body of the essay. To reach a higher band, ensure that each argument is fully extended with clear, logical reasoning and that the conclusion reflects the arguments presented throughout the text.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'In addition', and 'However'. However, the progression of ideas is occasionally disjointed. For instance, the transition between the discussion of school pressure and the benefits of holidays could be smoother. Additionally, the use of some cohesive devices feels slightly mechanical or repetitive. The paragraphing is functional, but the internal structure of the paragraphs could be improved to ensure that each point leads logically to the next. Referencing is generally clear, though some sentences feel like isolated statements rather than part of a cohesive argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'elucidate', 'pivotal', and 'close-knit', which is positive. However, there are also instances of awkward phrasing or imprecise word choices, such as 'pleasure of mind' and 'commence to make lame excuses'. Some collocations are slightly unnatural, such as 'disturb the routine of learners'. While the range is sufficient to convey meaning, more precise and varied vocabulary would be needed to reach a higher band level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with article usage ('a holiday in elementary and secondary schools'), subject-verb agreement, and awkward sentence construction ('a case at that point is'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but there are minor errors, such as the missing apostrophe in 'wont'. The errors do not significantly impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence variety and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would be beneficial.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.