Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-30

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)

Arguments regarding the length of the school holidays in summer are devided into two main categories. Some people are of the view that the durantion should be longer, while others believe that holidays should be shorter. This essay intends to explain the benefits of both stances.

Long holidays allow students, both in the primary and secondary sections, to take part on various extra-curricular activities apart from their formal education. Some may utilise this time learning new languages, cooking, playing instruments, gardening, and so on. Learning new skills and abilities allow them to become self-dependent, which also fosters their confidence. What is more, these activities inhance their cognitive abilities, which also contains a positive consequences for their academic successes.

Another important aspect is that during the period of extended holidays, students in the secondary schools can engage themselves into part-time jobs. This not only creates an opportunity to earn money, but also facilitates them to learn about work environments. Moreover, financial independency reinforces them to contribute to their studies or social activities.

Apart from this, prolonged holidays can be a great opportunity to travel overseas countries, which will broaden their perspective and widen their knowledge. Expericing something has quite lasting effects than reading about it.

On the other side, those who contends that holidays during summer should be shorter, holds the view that taking a long break from studies will adversely afftect childrens' academic activities. They argue that when a child does not study for a long period, be it two months or more, he or she finds it quite difficult to hold their concentration for longer period. Therefore, shorter holidays prevent them from this negative aspect. Secondly, according to their viewpoint, not everbody engages themself in learning or doing new things, rather they spend their time doing nothing. Consequently, they become less productive, which hampers their career. Thus, shorther holidays let them unwind and at the same time reenergize them to remain productive.

Another point they present is that longer holidatys may cause depression and juvenile delinquency. What they actually mean is that those children or teenagers who do not have friends or close connection with their families, feel isolated and left out. As a result, they get depressed or commit scrimes. So, according to them, shortened holidays are more preferable.

To sum up, both aspects offer considerable benfits and contain some risks. In order to ensure positive outcome, striking a proper balance betwwen these two scenarios is crucial. School authorities and governing bodies can work together to help the children make the most of their holidays.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing arguments for both the value of long holidays and the benefits of shorter ones. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, such as the discussion on extracurricular activities and part-time work. However, the development is occasionally uneven; for instance, the point regarding 'juvenile delinquency' is a bit extreme and could have been better supported with more nuanced reasoning. The position is clear throughout, and the essay maintains a balanced perspective, which is appropriate for this type of task. Overall, the response fulfills the requirements of the prompt effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is generally smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover,' 'Apart from this,' and 'On the other side' are used to link ideas effectively. However, there are some minor issues with referencing and flow, such as the slightly repetitive use of 'they' and 'them' when referring to different groups. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main viewpoints, contributing to the overall coherence of the piece.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally sufficient for the task, with some attempts at less common items like 'fosters,' 'cognitive abilities,' and 'facilitates.' However, there are several spelling errors ('devided,' 'durantion,' 'inhance,' 'expericing,' 'holidatys,' 'benfits') and some awkward collocations ('contains a positive consequences,' 'reinforces them to contribute'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of word forms. Expanding the range of vocabulary to include more precise academic collocations would help elevate the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is a good attempt at using complex forms, such as conditional and relative clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('those who contends,' 'those who... holds,' 'not everbody engages themself') and pluralization ('childrens''). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor slips throughout. While the meaning is always clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent pluralization will significantly improve accuracy.

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