Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-18

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)

It is often debated whether summer holidays are good or bad for students. In many parts of the world, primary and secondary schools give break for two months or more in the summer to students. Although giving lengthy holidays have some benefits, as students can recover from academic pressure and can spend quality time with their families.

One major benefit of lengthy school holidays is that they allow students to recover from their academic pressure. After months of lessons, exams, assignments and homework, children can relax without the pressure of studying every day. A long breaks allows them to pursue activities such as sports ,reading and working on their hobbies,. In addition, lengthy holidays enables them to spend quality time with their families, as families play a vital role in their personal development. They can go on a trip with their families to celebrate their quality breaks. For example, students who travel during the summer can gain practical knowledge about different cultures while returning to school feeling relaxed.

On the other hand, shorter school holidays can be beneficial because they allow students to maintain a more consistent learning routine. When children remain away from school studies for several months, they may forget the knowledge and skills they learnt or acquired during the academic period, meaning that teachers have to spend time reviewing previous material. Shorter breaks can reduce this problem and help students maintain their academic progress. Furthermore. short breaks can be more convenient for working parents, who may struggle to arrange childcare during length school closures.

In conclusion, long school breaks provide valuable opportunities for students to rest, spend time with their families and develop interests outside the classroom. However, shorter holidays can help maintain learning routine and provide greater convenience for working parents.

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. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented. However, the development is somewhat limited; for instance, the point about 'practical knowledge' is a good start but could be expanded with more specific examples. The introduction is slightly weak as it begins with a sentence fragment ('Although giving lengthy holidays have some benefits...') which fails to establish a complete thought or a clear thesis statement. Overall, the response covers the requirements well, but the depth of analysis could be improved to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'On the other hand', and 'Furthermore' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, there are some minor issues with punctuation and sentence structure that slightly disrupt the flow. For example, the sentence 'Furthermore. short breaks...' uses a period instead of a comma, which is a mechanical error. Referencing is generally clear, and the progression of ideas from the benefits of long breaks to the advantages of shorter ones is logical and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally appropriate for the task and allows for clear communication. You use some good topic-specific collocations like 'academic pressure', 'consistent learning routine', and 'personal development'. However, there are some minor errors in word form and collocation, such as 'give break' (should be 'give a break') and 'length school closures' (should be 'lengthy school closures'). The range is sufficient to convey your ideas, but it lacks the more sophisticated or precise vocabulary that would characterize a higher band score. Expanding your range of synonyms and idiomatic expressions would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are several grammatical slips. For instance, 'Although giving lengthy holidays have some benefits' contains a subject-verb agreement error ('holidays have' vs 'giving... has'). There are also punctuation errors, such as the unnecessary comma in 'hobbies,.' and the fragmented sentence structure in the introduction. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout, and the mistakes do not significantly impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and proofreading for punctuation errors.

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