Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-08

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 the Summer season, most of the primary and secondary schools close for two months or more. However, closing schools in the summer holidays has its own pros and cons.

To begin with, most of the schools announce long summer holidays due to hot weather conditions because conducting regular classes during scorching heat are often un-bearable for both students and staff. Travelling to schools in scorching heat often effects the health of students negatively. Likewise, most of the public schools lack advance air conditioners to kill the heat and the condition of classrooms become miserable in hot weather for both students and staff so announcing summer holidays ease the struggle of both of them. Moreover, this time period allows the students to get involved in different activities which they like but often cannot get time during their regular school routine. For example, they can play cricket and other games during the evening hours with their friends, visit different places for picnic parties with their family, learn new skills online and get themselves involved in different creative activities like art club.

On the contrary, there exist some opinions regarding shorter school holidays so that students can enhance their learning. Firstly. instead of announcing very long school holidays, the education department should launch summer camps for just 2-3 hours a day during the hot weather so that there's no loss of studies and students can enhance their understanding of difficult topics. Moreover, the governments should allocate funds for schools to install air conditioners so that both the students and teachers continue their teaching - learning process easily.

In conclusion, school holidays can have multiple benefits including a much needed free time for the students to do extra curricular activities and to refrain them from struggle of daily attending schools in severe heat. However, instead of long holidays, the concept of shorter holidays and conducting summer camps also benefits the students to enhance their understanding of difficult topics.

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, such as the impact of extreme heat on health and the potential for extracurricular development. However, the development is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument for shorter holidays focuses heavily on infrastructure (air conditioning) rather than purely pedagogical benefits. While the position is clear, the supporting points could be more deeply explored to reach a higher band. The response covers all requirements of the task effectively, though it lacks the depth of analysis expected at the highest levels.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into four paragraphs. There is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', 'On the contrary', and 'In conclusion' are used to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main arguments. Overall, the flow of information is easy to follow, and the structure supports the reader's understanding of the arguments presented.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. You use some topic-specific terms like 'extracurricular activities' and 'teaching-learning process'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'effects the health' (should be 'affects') and 'kill the heat' (which is informal/idiomatic). There is also a tendency to repeat words like 'scorching heat' and 'students'. To improve, try to incorporate a wider range of synonyms and more precise academic collocations to demonstrate greater flexibility and control over your lexical choices.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include 'conducting regular classes... are often un-bearable' (subject-verb agreement error), 'the condition of classrooms become' (should be 'becomes'), and 'refrain them from struggle of daily attending' (awkward phrasing). Punctuation is generally fine, though there is a stray period after 'Firstly'. The errors do not impede communication, but they do indicate a need for more consistent control over complex grammatical structures.

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