Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-15
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 school have two months or more holidays in several countries during sumer.While this development is beneficial,I believe shorter holidays are valuable since students will retain what they have learnt in school.
On the one hand,longer holidays enable parents bond with their kids effectively.This way,they will know the character of their children and make necessary corrections where possible. For instance, a shy child will be corrected by the parent during vacation time as opposed to when the child was at school whereby the teacher would not notice such weakness in the student. Consequently, a well rounded individual who can speak boldly in public will be raised.This would not have been achieved if the child did not spend quality time at home with the parent.
On the other hand, shorter holidays are beneficial to students since they will will have a high retention rate.This is opposed to when they stay at home for long and end up forgetting everything they learnt at school.Shorter holidays enable students recall their subject content and as a result, teachers will adequately cover the syllabus instead of repeating past revision materials.This way, learners will achieve higher grades at the end of the year.Therefore, shorter holidays are preferably good for students who desire quality grades.
To conclude, although many countries offer longer holidays for students in order for them to stay in touch with their parents,I believe shorter ones can be better for the sake of the student's quality grades because they will have more time at school will their teachers focusing on their academic.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
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. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding parents correcting a child's 'shy' character is a bit narrow and lacks broader societal or developmental context. The second body paragraph regarding retention rates is more focused but could be strengthened with more specific examples or a deeper explanation of the pedagogical impact. Overall, the response covers the requirements but remains at a fairly basic level of analysis.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central topic. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'Consequently.' However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with punctuation and spacing (e.g., missing spaces after commas). The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing is more precise to avoid repetitive sentence structures.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are some spelling errors, such as 'sumer' instead of 'summer.' The word choice is functional but repetitive; for example, the word 'holidays' is used frequently without synonyms. Phrases like 'preferably good' are unnatural and imprecise. To improve, the student should focus on using more sophisticated collocations and avoiding basic errors in spelling and word formation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. Examples include 'school have' instead of 'schools have,' 'will will have,' and 'will their teachers focusing on their academic.' These errors, combined with missing spaces after punctuation marks, occasionally distract the reader. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of consistent control over basic grammatical rules and sentence construction limits the score in this criterion.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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