Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-06

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)

During summer break, students of elementary school and high school get vacation for two months or more in many nations. This longer period of holidays allows children to participate in extracurricular activities and can learn new skills.

Usually children love the summer season most because of school break they are waiting for months. In several nations, primary and secondary schools offer holidays for more than two months, when children and teenagers can plan their favorite activities to perform. For instance, joining music classes, dance class or swimming class. In addition to that, there are various sports academies who schedule matches between teams during school breaks. For example, in India cricket is a popular sport among students and cricket academies will plan a cricket match between two teams during the holiday. Parents who live abroad can plan a trip to visit their home country during this period.

However, some people argue that summer vacation should be for a shorter duration of time in order to maintain routine to be followed by their children. According to a few individuals, an extended summer holiday can make children distracted from studies, while they are taking more interest towards entertainment tools. Several students spend more time using social media or watching television instead of focusing on learning new skills, which will be a waste of time. Furthermore, long school vacations can be inconvenient for working parents in order to take care of their children for full time.

In conclusion, the extended summer holidays can be an opportunity for students to pursue their hobby and learn extracurricular activities, however many individuals think that shorter break will prevent procrastination in children towards following a routine and really focus on their study.

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. The ideas are relevant, such as extracurricular activities and the challenges for working parents. However, the development is somewhat superficial. For example, the point about 'entertainment tools' and 'social media' is mentioned but not fully explored in terms of its impact on long-term academic performance. The position is clear, but the conclusion could be more robust by synthesising the arguments rather than just restating them. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is supported by a more detailed explanation or a more specific, analytical example.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organised into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition to that', 'For instance', 'However', and 'Furthermore' are used to link ideas. While the progression is generally clear, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive. The referencing is mostly accurate, though some sentences within paragraphs could flow more naturally. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the benefits from the drawbacks, which helps the reader follow the argument easily. Overall, the structure is sound and supports the development of the topic.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task and allows for clear communication. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'extracurricular activities', 'procrastination', and 'inconvenient'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are some minor inaccuracies in collocation, such as 'taking more interest towards' (should be 'in') and 'for full time' (should be 'full-time'). The vocabulary is functional but lacks the sophistication or precision required for higher bands. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic synonyms to avoid repeating basic terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation. For instance, 'students of elementary school and high school get vacation' (should be 'in elementary and high school'), 'there are various sports academies who schedule' (should be 'that schedule'), and 'shorter break will prevent' (should be 'a shorter break'). These errors do not impede communication, but they demonstrate a lack of consistent control over complex structures. Increasing the variety of error-free complex sentences would help improve this score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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