Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-21

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)

Summer breaks are needed by the students to blow off the steam of the past year. The school system give vacations lasting upto two or more months in many countries. The students can work on their hobbies, watch movies, go on holidays with their families and so much more. This has been a never ending topic of debate among the government and the private school system for a long time now.

As much as I agree that the summer break is essential for students but giving two or more months off could lead to boredom, slowly losing interest in school work and the routine getting messed up. These long vacations gives the school lesser time to complete their remaining syllabus causing them to teach in a more haphazard and speedy manner. This makes the student unable to cope up with the school work.

Speaking from my experience, my school system has not changed at all based on this matter. Every summer vacation we would be given a mountain of work to complete within 15 days. That vacation homework along with the tuition work, we would get exhausted by the end of the day. The primary section students would still be able to somehow manage but as they enter higher grades, they would get buried under this heaps of unnecessary burden.

Therefore, I believe shorter and adequate school holidays will promote a more smooth and healthy lifestyle for the students along with teachers having abundant time to complete the syllabus .

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. However, the development is somewhat limited. While you mention hobbies and family time, these points are brief. The argument for shorter holidays is more developed, focusing on syllabus completion and student stress. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the benefits of long breaks, perhaps discussing the psychological need for rest or the opportunity for extracurricular skill development. The position is clear throughout, but the depth of analysis is inconsistent, which keeps the response at a mid-level band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices like 'Therefore' and 'As much as I agree', which help guide the reader. However, the transition between ideas is sometimes mechanical. For instance, the jump from the general debate to your personal experience in the third paragraph feels a bit abrupt. Additionally, some sentences are slightly disjointed. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph flows more naturally into the next would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some relevant phrases such as 'haphazard and speedy manner' and 'unnecessary burden'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'blow off the steam' (the idiom is 'blow off steam') and 'this heaps of unnecessary burden' (should be 'these heaps'). To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary and ensure that collocations are used accurately to convey your points with more sophistication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, 'The school system give' should be 'gives', and 'long vacations gives' should be 'give'. There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and pluralization, such as 'this heaps'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic agreement and tense consistency will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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