Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-24

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)

During summer, the primary and secondary schools provide a two-month holiday break in many countries. This phase help students to develop a positive attitude towards learning however, the longer gap might result in a poorer academic performances.

The longer breaks from school, provides children a calmer and more stress-free mindset. During these days, the individuals tend to spend most of the time dedicating to personal development through various physical, mental and emotional activities. For instance, students get to play with their group of friends more often everyday which improve their friendships and build stronger bonds. Furthermore, most people often live far away from their grand parents, this break eventually make them to meet their loved ones to spend a quality time and fulfills the child desires. Thus, these longer holiday periods will help students to nurture their development.

The institutions should provide holidays but longer breaks will have certain disadvantages, for instance, these will significantly demotivate the individuals in terms of academics and results in low grades. Hence, the governments should restrict such schools, and advice them to provide short-term holidays more often rather than a long two month break. This type of initiative will help students to balance their school and holidays efficiently and will bring better grades.

In conclusion, despite the several values of long-term school breaks the students still face some difficulties having a prolonged break. Hence, the primary and secondary schools should shift towards the shorter holidays which are given more often, which will result in better positive outcomes.

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 of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the point about 'personal development' is mentioned but not fully explored with specific examples or depth. The argument for shorter holidays is also quite brief, relying on the general claim of 'better grades' without explaining the pedagogical or psychological mechanisms behind this. To reach a higher band, you should provide more detailed explanations and concrete examples to support your arguments, ensuring that the discussion is balanced and fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion' to link sentences. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as the transition 'Thus, these longer holiday periods will help students to nurture their development.' Additionally, some referencing is unclear, and the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that the logical progression within paragraphs is more seamless.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'academic performances' and 'personal development'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'fulfills the child desires' (should be 'fulfills the child's desires') and 'restrict such schools' (which is not the most natural way to describe government policy on school calendars). To improve, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and ensuring that your word choices are accurate and natural in an academic context.

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 frequent grammatical errors that affect the fluency of the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('This phase help', 'The longer breaks... provides'), missing articles ('in terms of academics'), and awkward phrasing ('this break eventually make them to meet'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and refining your use of articles and prepositions will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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