Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-12

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)

In many society some ministers are preferring to have longer summer holidays that last for more than two month at a time but many specialist are debating longer summer holidays are doing more harm than good to the children's learnings outcomes.

In one hand it is found in a study done by oxford university where they tracked primary and secondary students of different countries and measured their learning outcomes at the end of each school year that children in countries who have longer summer breaks more than not learn more during the school year children in countries who close schools for more than two month in summer are more developed than children from countries that have shorter summer breaks. This is due to the struggles of anxiety and the exam seasons that hinder these students mental capacity to learn even more.

On the other hand, children development specialist Mr Mehta argues that children who have shorter summer breaks, mainly in early elementary level, forget some of the basics they learned in school, like writing some words or reading some phrases. That is made even worse if they did not practice some of these skills during the summer and other holiday, since it's a detrimental stage in the learning development of these children.

In conclusion, both short and long holidays have advantages and disadvantages on children's learning progress, and whether it is better to have either, specialists said, depends on the age group and the learning stage these children are currently in.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. However, the development of ideas is somewhat inconsistent. The argument regarding long holidays is confusingly phrased, as the text seems to contradict itself by suggesting that children in countries with longer breaks learn more, while also mentioning 'anxiety' as a hindrance. The second body paragraph regarding shorter holidays is better focused but remains somewhat brief. To reach a higher band, you should ensure your arguments are clearly articulated and logically supported with more specific examples or explanations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices like 'In one hand' (though this should be 'On the one hand') and 'On the other hand'. However, the flow within the first body paragraph is disjointed, making it difficult to follow the logic of the argument. The transition between the study mentioned and the conclusion about anxiety is abrupt. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one will significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'many society' (should be 'many societies') and 'specialist are debating' (should be 'specialists are debating'). You rely on fairly simple vocabulary throughout. To improve, try to incorporate more academic collocations and precise terminology related to education and child development, and pay closer attention to pluralization and subject-verb agreement.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'more than two month' (should be 'months'), 'children in countries who have longer summer breaks more than not learn more' (which is syntactically confusing), and 'detrimental stage in the learning development'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on subject-verb agreement and plural forms.

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

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