Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-11

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)

Many countries in the world provide two or more holidays in the form of summer vacations. Individuals are debating whether these many holidays are good or not.

Firstly, holidays are source of exploring and stepping out of comfort zone as well as relaxing. For instance, a child during summer vacation try's something new like learning a course aside from its main field. This way he is able to explore and relax. Furthermore, during primary and secondary schooling children go through two prime ages, which builds up their future self. During that age human beings are the most curious and they tend to explore. Long vacations give them the opportunity of learning themselves and adopting to the changes around them. It is a time when they have no stress or pressure of school, allowing them to have vast number of opportunities for trying new stuff. It is really important for one to do something unique to know themselves and for that they need time, summer vacation provides exactly the time one needs.

However, people have now started arguing that it's not beneficial way of learning and schools should shorten the holidays. They believe education system should provide the teaching about learning oneself. For example, some schools in few countries provide them real life experience task. Moreover, there is a point of parents that high number of vacations dulls out the will of study, they lose their motivation and lose interest in going to school. A child becomes lazy and avoids going to school. More importantly parents complain about their children not being productive in holidays, they state that children have a source of activity when they go to school.

Taking everything into accounting, Vacations play an important role in a child's development. Long vacations have its significant value and what matters is how a learner utilizes them.

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 personal development and the concern regarding academic motivation. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The first body paragraph is quite repetitive, focusing on 'exploring' and 'learning' without providing specific, concrete examples. The second paragraph introduces the counter-argument but relies on generalizations about parents' complaints. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific, illustrative examples—for instance, mentioning specific extracurricular activities or citing a country that has successfully implemented shorter holidays to support your points more effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. You use some cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', 'However', and 'Moreover' to link ideas. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and the transition between sentences can feel abrupt. For example, the shift from discussing personal development to the counter-argument in the second paragraph could be smoother. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as 'they' in 'they lose their motivation', where the antecedent is not immediately obvious. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring clear pronoun reference would enhance the logical flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'extracurricular' (implied) or 'academic motivation'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and awkward phrasing, such as 'dulls out the will of study' and 'learning oneself'. These phrases are not standard collocations. To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and natural collocations. While you attempt to use a range of words, the lack of sophistication and occasional errors in word choice prevent a higher score in this criterion.

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 throughout the text. Examples include 'try's' instead of 'tries', 'adopting to' instead of 'adapting to', and 'a vast number of opportunities for trying new stuff' (which is slightly informal). There are also issues with article usage and subject-verb agreement, such as 'Vacations play an important role' followed by 'Long vacations have its significant value'. These errors are noticeable but do not significantly impede communication. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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

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