Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-20
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)
Some people have argued that school children must have shorter term breaks throughout the year. Whereas other believed that it is unreasonable. In this paragraph, I will discus the possible reasons and substantial arguments to abandon this practice.
To commence with, the longer breaks are eminent for instilling extra curriculum activities in children to explore their own sort of interest instead of academic burden. To simplify it, children ought to learn some unique concepts instead of academics learning which help them to develop cognitively and ease their real life. Moreover, this gives a wider range of perspective and booms their creativity in child's mind. To be consistent, it also helps the child to reduce their stress from exams for a shorter period of time and prepare them mentally for upcoming events.
On the contrary, shorter breaks leads to rapid achievements in the from the academic basis. Though it helps students to practice more for their examinations. Moreover, it encourages children to focus on study more rather than distracted activities. To site an example , children usually spend their official season breaks in summer camps and other leisure activities which diverts the student interest from the actual goals.However, it decrease the confidence and ability to cooperate with studies for a longer time.
To wrap up, it is undeniable that shorter breaks give some time for children to explore their interest while other believe that it is unnecessary and leads to distraction from the actual purpose of children.Both aspects are equally valid and their own importance.
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, discussing the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the argument regarding 'extra curriculum activities' is mentioned but not fully explained or supported with specific examples. The conclusion is slightly contradictory, as it suggests both sides are valid without clearly summarising the main points. To improve, ensure that each body paragraph provides a clear, well-supported argument rather than a list of general statements. The position is clear, but the depth of analysis needs to be increased to reach a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. There is an attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Moreover', and 'On the contrary'. However, some of these are used mechanically or incorrectly, such as 'To be consistent' and 'To site an example' (which should be 'cite'). The flow between sentences is sometimes disjointed, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the final paragraph where the summary does not accurately reflect the preceding arguments. Improving the variety and accuracy of linking words will enhance the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations. For example, 'eminent' is used incorrectly instead of 'important' or 'beneficial', and 'booms their creativity' is not standard English. Phrases like 'actual goals' and 'official season breaks' are slightly unnatural. While the student attempts to use some academic vocabulary, the lack of precision and occasional misuse of words limit the score. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using words in their correct context rather than attempting to use complex-sounding vocabulary that may be inaccurate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('other believed', 'shorter breaks leads') and incorrect article usage. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and periods. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To reach a higher band, the student needs to focus on basic grammatical accuracy, particularly verb tense consistency and subject-verb agreement, before attempting more complex sentence structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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