Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-26

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)

In many countries, school close for two months or more during the summer holidays. Although long holidays provide several benefits , shorter school breaks can be also advatageous.

Long holidays give students an opportunity to relax after a busy academic year. They can spend more time with their families, travel, play sports and take part in other activities. Moreover, a long break can reduce stress and help students to concentrate on their studies and feeling motivated and refreshed. Teachers can use this time for rest,relaxation and prepare for the next academic year.

However, shorter school holidays may help students to maintain their leaarning habits. After a long break, children may forgot some of the knowledge they have gained, meaning that teachers need to spend additional time reviewing previous lessons. Shorter breaks can also provide a more regular learning routine and may be particularly beneficial for students who need extra academic support. Additionally, shorter school holidays can be more convenient for working parents, as they may find it difficult ot arrange childcare during lengthy school closures.

In my point of view, long school holidays are more beneficial because they allow students to rest, spend time with their families and participate in other activities while short school holidays are beneficial for working parents.

In conclusion, long school holidays allow students and teachers to rest and enjoy time away from school, while shorter holidays can prevent students from losing their academic progress and support working families. Therefore, a balanced school calendar with reasonably long breaks may be the best approach.

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 position is clear throughout, and the ideas are relevant. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the point about 'maintaining learning habits' is a strong argument, but it could have been expanded with a concrete example of how summer learning loss affects student performance. The conclusion is a bit repetitive, restating points already made rather than synthesising them into a more nuanced final thought. To reach a higher band, ensure that each main idea is supported by a specific example or a deeper explanation of the 'why' and 'how'.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main viewpoints. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'However', and 'Additionally' are used to link ideas effectively. However, the progression within paragraphs could be smoother; some sentences feel like a list of points rather than a cohesive argument. The referencing is generally clear, though the transition between the discussion of benefits and the personal opinion in the fourth paragraph is slightly abrupt. Overall, the structure is easy to follow and serves the purpose of the essay well.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task and allows for clear communication. You use some topic-specific terms like 'academic year', 'learning habits', and 'childcare'. However, there are some spelling errors ('advatageous', 'leaarning', 'forgot' instead of 'forget', 'ot' instead of 'to') and minor collocation issues. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited; you rely on fairly common words. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition of words like 'beneficial' and 'holidays'. The current range is sufficient to convey your meaning, but lacks the sophistication required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'school close' (should be 'schools close'), 'can be also advatageous' (word order), and 'feeling motivated' (parallelism issue with 'concentrate on their studies and feel motivated'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. You demonstrate an attempt at complex structures, but the control is inconsistent. To achieve a higher score, focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and refining the use of parallel structures in lists. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences will also help boost your score.

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

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