Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Nowadays in developed countries, it is observed that many students pursuing their lower level education are granted summer vacation for time span of two or three months. I believe longer break from schools facilitate in deeper family bond but also affects the studies of children. The pros of both longer and shorter school holidays will be elaborated in the ensuing paragraphs.

Firstly, closing educational institutions during whole summer enable families to spend more quality time with each other. These days people living in urban areas tend to plan longer holidays during summer to take a break from their busy life schedules. For instance, if a family goes on a trip for several weeks when the schools remain closed, they should not worry about the vacation hampering their child’s education. This as a result, helps both parents and kid to relax and enjoy their vacation to the fullest. Furthermore, it not only creates feeling of belongingness, deep love and affection among family members but also protect mental wellbeing of individuals.

Despite the fact that longer breaks are of great value, it has a negative impact on overall education of students. After a long break, it is really hard for them to fully concentrate on their school courseworks. Many kids struggle to get on a regular track which decreases their academic performance. Due to this guardians seem to be worried and stressed. Moreover, children might feel difficulty interacting with strangers in schools. This later hampers their social life. Hence, school should provide shorter holidays as refreshments to help students maintain their regular routine and keep them away from any form of mental pressure.

Therefore, though longer holidays helps in strengthening family relationship, shorter holidays enables kids to focus on their studies. Overall, I think schools should grant 2 to 3 months holidays in a year but not at once. Few weeks in all the season will help students to easily adopt the learning process.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter ones. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While the benefits of family bonding are well-explained, the argument regarding 'interacting with strangers' as a negative consequence of long holidays is slightly underdeveloped and lacks a clear logical link to the school break itself. To reach a higher band, ensure that all supporting points are directly relevant and fully explored. Overall, the response covers the requirements well, though some points could be more robustly supported with more specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the two main arguments. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', 'Despite the fact that', and 'Therefore' are used to guide the reader through the text. However, there are minor issues with referencing and flow; for example, the transition between the negative impact on education and the point about 'interacting with strangers' is a bit abrupt. The use of cohesive devices is generally effective, though occasionally slightly mechanical. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing for clear expression of ideas. You have used some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'educational institutions', 'academic performance', and 'mental wellbeing'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'lower level education' (instead of 'primary education') and 'provide shorter holidays as refreshments' (which is slightly unnatural). While you attempt to use less common items, the control is not yet fully consistent. To improve, focus on more precise collocations and ensure that word choices are natural in an academic context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is a good attempt at using complex forms, such as conditional sentences ('if a family goes on a trip...') and concessive clauses ('Despite the fact that...'). However, there are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('longer holidays helps', 'shorter holidays enables') and minor article omissions. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences and proofreading for basic agreement errors will help improve this score significantly.

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

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