Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-22

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)

Many countries in the world allow the summer vacations for junior and elementary schools to be of two months or more. This is considered to be of some benefits that include prevention from summer heat and allow students to be more productive at home with summer assignments that they are given.

Firstly, unlike in my parts of the world, summers can be very harsh in nature so in most countries in the world, where temperature goes beyond 40 degree centigrade, schools are often closed for two months or more in order to prevent any health issue resulting from prolong sun exposure like heat strokes and rash. For example, unlike in northern areas of Pakistan, summer holidays in Southern Pakistan usually last up to three months because the temperature goes beyond 50 degree centigrade in some parts. This can lead to life threatening conditions like shock, heat stroke or skin disorders.

Secondly, summer holidays allow student to remain home and indulge in extra academic activities that prove to be helpful in their mental and physical growth. Moreover, the assignments that students are given, can help them to keep up with the curriculum, without effecting their education.

Many argue that the summer vacations should be of shorter tenure. As the students are in their early phase of education, a longer holiday period can pose a negative effect on it. For example, staying idle at home for too long can make children lazy allowing most of them to not bother to follow their homework. Moreover, there is no teacher to look upon the progress that students make at home in order to rectify the mistakes or do counselling. Arguments like these raises questions to whether summer holidays be made longer of cut shorter.

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, particularly the point about extreme weather conditions in Pakistan. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The second paragraph focuses on the benefits of holidays, but the third paragraph, which discusses the arguments for shorter holidays, is less developed and lacks specific examples compared to the first section. To reach a higher band, ensure that the counter-arguments are supported with the same level of detail as the initial points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the transition between ideas is generally smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', and 'For example' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, there are minor issues with referencing and flow; for instance, the phrase 'unlike in my parts of the world' is slightly ambiguous in context. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the structure supports the argument well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate and appropriate for the task. You have used some topic-specific terms like 'curriculum', 'prolong sun exposure', and 'rectify'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'shorter tenure' (which usually refers to a position in office) and 'look upon the progress' (which should be 'monitor the progress'). Expanding your range to include more precise academic collocations would improve the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'allow students to be more productive' (should be 'allows'), 'without effecting their education' (should be 'affecting'), and 'Arguments like these raises questions' (should be 'raise'). Punctuation is generally correct, but the frequency of these minor errors prevents the essay from reaching the 7.0 band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and word forms will help improve accuracy.

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

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