Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-13

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)

Primary and secondary schools of many countries remain close for summer vacation for about two or more months. Prolonged vacation is important for becoming productive and having new experiences. Even though long holidays have their own merits, shorter holidays are good for students in maintaining the regularized life which gets broken over long holidays.

In various countries, the students are seen having long summer vacations. These long vacations are mainly used for doing internships, social welfare work or even for traveling. It is quite common to have summer jobs around these areas which actually teach the school-goers about the essence of earning money and experiences which is surely going to help them on the later lives. In the USA, it is almost customary that the parents send their children off to summer jobs even though they are financially solvent.

However, one of the main drawbacks of having such long school holidays is the students lose the habit of going to the school, finishing homework and studying. They are often seen struggling a lot to get back to the usual routine after this long break. As a result, in some countries, it is highly avoided as it breaks the normal pattern of the students. In Bangladesh, the summer vacation is hardly of two weeks. Even more, homework and assignments are given for holidays, so that they don't skip study at all.

Since the importance of having long school vacation is huge considering the fact that the students grow up having work or travel experiences, side by side with primary or secondary education. However, it is not free from demerits which made short holidays favorable as the students can have vacations and at the same time remain accustomed to the usual routined life.

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. You have provided relevant examples, such as the mention of internships in the USA and the school system in Bangladesh. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the benefits of long holidays could be explored with more depth regarding personal development or mental health, rather than just focusing on work experience. The position is clear throughout, but the conclusion is slightly repetitive and could have been used to synthesize the arguments more effectively. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, but further elaboration would elevate the score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use cohesive devices such as 'However', 'As a result', and 'In various countries' to link ideas. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions feel a bit mechanical. For example, the start of the final paragraph ('Since the importance...') is grammatically incomplete and creates a slight disconnect in the logical progression. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different viewpoints, which helps the reader follow your argument. To improve, ensure that each sentence connects seamlessly to the next to avoid minor disruptions in the flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your ideas clearly. Phrases like 'financially solvent', 'essence of earning money', and 'remain accustomed to' show a good grasp of language. There are some minor inaccuracies, such as 'highly avoided' (which is not a standard collocation) and 'routined life' (which should be 'routine life'). While you attempt to use less common vocabulary, the precision is occasionally lacking. The range is adequate for the task, but incorporating more sophisticated collocations and idiomatic expressions would help you reach a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'schools of many countries remain close' (should be 'closed'), 'on the later lives' (should be 'in their later lives'), and the sentence fragment starting with 'Since the importance...'. Despite these errors, your meaning is always clear, and the mistakes do not impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and preposition usage. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences will help demonstrate better control over your grammatical range.

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

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