Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-10

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 6.0)

Summer holidays are the most awaited holidays for children over years, as it is the only holidays they get for a longer duration after the completion of their annual year. The value of long school holidays and the some of the arguments for shorter school holidays will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

To begin with, in many countries, primary and secondary schools close for long duration which is valuable as a part of children's lives. They can utilize this long duration in many forms, as the time spent while going to the school generally focus on academics, test, performances, competitions, attendance. Apart from this, children should be able to recognize their own abilities or talent they have within, some have great creative skills like arts and painting, some have gifted talents, they can reshape and built, enhance their skills in this duration. Furthermore, children get to go to their hometown and meet their elderly relatives and gain practical knowledge of life which is extremely important too. Social bonds can be made and can explore many unusual things. For instance, when i had long holidays, i spent most of my time with my grandparents hearing many life stories from them and spent much time in painting which is my hobby.

To the flip side, shorter school holidays can be beneficial for those children who waste their time in just watching stuff that is not meant for their age, or not required or not helpful in life in any form. Many children tend to build some bad habits when not watched upon by their parents, shorter holidays will allow them to go back to school and be under observation. Even schools can have some extra curriculum activities so that students can learn different things even at school.

Taking everything into consideration, it can be concluded that duration of holidays can depend on the families that can be able to give their children time or want the school to include extra activities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

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 section on the value of long holidays is reasonably well-supported with personal examples, such as spending time with grandparents. Conversely, the arguments for shorter holidays are less developed and rely on generalizations about children 'wasting time' or building 'bad habits'. To reach a higher band, you should provide more balanced, analytical arguments rather than relying on assumptions about student behavior. The position is clear, but the conclusion is slightly weak as it does not fully synthesize the points discussed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'Taking everything into consideration'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'To the flip side', which is not a standard idiomatic expression. Additionally, some sentences lack smooth transitions, making the flow feel a bit disjointed in places. Improving the variety and naturalness of your linking words will help the essay read more fluently.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your meaning, but it is somewhat limited and repetitive. For example, you use the word 'duration' multiple times in the first two paragraphs. There are also some imprecise word choices, such as 'watching stuff' and 'not watched upon', which are too informal for an academic essay. While you attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'academics' and 'extra curriculum activities' (which should be 'extracurricular'), the range is not yet broad enough to demonstrate the flexibility required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you are generally able to communicate your ideas, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'the some of the arguments', 'the time spent while going to the school generally focus' (subject-verb agreement), and 'can be able to'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma splices. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your point, they occur frequently enough to limit your score in this criterion.

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

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