Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Long holidays are very common in many countries and has become a part of the education system. Although these breaks have several benefits, but there are some adverse effects along with it as well.

Advantage of long school holidays is that they allow students to rest after months of studying. A ling break also helps students to reduce their stress and improves mental health allowing student to enter school more refreshed. In addition, holidays provide opportunities to students to send more time with their loved ones, travel and even learn new skills. Some students also use these breaks in doing some kind of internship at an NGO. These experiences overall help students to develop confident and learn more skills.

On the other hand, longer holidays have some negative effects to, such as, students forget some important concepts which they need in their upcoming classes. As a result teachers then have to spend more time in revising the previous concepts. This further leads to issues like overall reduce efficiency in learning. Furthermore, students with less resources to study at home might fall behind from their class fellows.

In conclusion, longer holidays provide relaxation, personal growth and a good family time, while shorter holidays help students retain knowledge and maintain consistent learning. Moreover, I have personally experienced that after long summer holidays I could not even write properly and was unable to retain the concepts that I had learned in my school until I joined an academy. This tells that even if we get long holidays eventually it would be used in tuition time instead of relaxing or learning a new skill.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. The ideas are relevant, such as the benefits of rest and skill development versus the drawbacks of knowledge loss and educational inequality. However, the development is somewhat superficial. For example, the point about 'less resources' is mentioned but not fully explored. The position is clear throughout, and the conclusion effectively synthesizes the arguments. To reach a higher band, the student should provide more detailed examples or deeper analysis for each point raised.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In addition', 'On the other hand', and 'Furthermore', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing, such as the slightly awkward phrasing 'along with it as well' in the introduction. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two sides of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'adverse effects', 'consistent learning', and 'retain knowledge'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'reduce efficiency' instead of 'reduced efficiency' and 'fall behind from their class fellows' (should be 'fall behind their classmates'). While these errors do not impede communication, they limit the score to the 6.0–6.5 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Long holidays... has become') and incorrect use of conjunctions ('Although... but'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some missing articles and awkward phrasing, such as 'Advantage of long school holidays is that...' (missing 'The'). While the meaning is always clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. More attention to proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would be beneficial.

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