Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

In many countries, during the summer holidays, there is a closure of both primary and secondary schools for a period of about 60 days. The benefits of longer and shorter school holidays will be discussed further in this essay.

To begin, longer academic breaks can be helpful to young adults for family bonding as well as learning a new hobby. Firstly, after a long and stressful academic session, a hobby can be learnt to relieve accumulated stress. For instance children might learn to play an instrument or bake which they can do to make an income at their leisure. Secondly, during the school year, there is reduced family time as academics takes up most of it hence, longer holidays give room for bonding, thereby making parents understand their children better within this limited time frame.

However, shorter holidays also have it's perks as it prevents learning loss while reducing readjustment time for the children. By reducing the amount of time children get to spend away from school during summer. The learned routine in preparation for daily school activities and readiness for post lecture assignments in young children will not be completely lost. Furthermore, classes which were taught prior to closure of schools will remain residual and not completely forgotten. This in turn will help the students on resumption in continuity of learning thereby making the teachers job a whole lot easier.

To sum up, although shorter school holidays has its benefits like retainment of residual knowledge, longer summer academic breaks are of upmost importance as it allows time for mental rest and family bonding.

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 ideas are relevant and clearly presented. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the point about 'learning a new hobby' is mentioned, but could be expanded with more specific examples of how this contributes to long-term skill development. Similarly, the argument regarding 'learning loss' is a strong point, but the explanation could be more nuanced. Overall, the position is clear throughout, and the response covers all requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin', 'Firstly', 'However', and 'To sum up' are used effectively to link ideas. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions could be more sophisticated to improve the overall cohesion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and the structure supports the reader's understanding of the arguments presented.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary used is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. You have used some good collocations like 'accumulated stress', 'family bonding', and 'residual knowledge'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies and repetitive phrasing. For example, 'academics takes up most of it' is slightly awkward, and 'upmost' should be 'utmost'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate a wider range of less common lexical items and ensure precise word choice throughout the essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are some grammatical errors that slightly affect the flow. For example, 'it's perks' should be 'its perks' (possessive), and 'classes which were taught... will remain residual' is a bit clunky. Additionally, there is a sentence fragment: 'By reducing the amount of time children get to spend away from school during summer.' This should be connected to the following sentence. Despite these errors, the meaning is always clear, and the grammar does not impede communication.

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