Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-13

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)

School systems around the world typically grant students an extended break of teo months or longer during the summer, a practice that contines to spark debate among educators and parents alike. This essay will examine the benefits of such lengthy holidays before considering the case for a reduce break.

Extended time away from the classroom offers substantial development value. Without the pressure of daily coursework, children have the opportunity to pursue interests that formal education rarely accomodates, from sports to creative hobbies, which fosters well-rounded personal growth. Equally, a prolonged holiday allows families to spend concentrated time together, strengthening bonds that are often neglected during the demanding school term. In india, for instance, many families use the summer break to visit relatives in different states, an experience that broaden childern's cultural awareness far more effectively than a textbook could.

Nevertheless, a compelling case can be made for curtailing this break. The most frequently cited concern is academic regression: research consistently shows that students, particularly in mathematics, lose a measurable portion of what they learned the previous year, forcing teachers to spend the first few weeks of the new term on revision rather than new material. Shorter, more frequent breaks spread throughout the year could prevent this cycle of forgetting while still giving students adequate rest. Furthermore, extended holidays place a practical burden on working parents, who must arrange costly childcare for weeks at a stretch, a difficulty that a shorter summer break dispersed across the year would considerably ease.

Nevertheless, a compelling case can be made for curtailing this break. The most frequently cited concern is academic regression: research consistently shows that students, particularly in mathematics, lose a measurable portion of the what they learned previous year, forcing teachers to spend the first few weeks to the new term on revision rather than new material. shorter, more frequent breaks spread throughout the year could prevent this cycle of forgetting while still giving student adequate rest. Furthermore, extended holidays place a practical burden on working parents, who must arrange costly childcare for weeks at a stretch, a difficulty that a shorter summer break dispresed across the year would be considerably ease.

In conclusion, while long summer holidays provide valuable opportunities for personal development and family bonding, the academic and logistic drawbacks suggests that a shorter, more evenly distributed holiday structure would better serve both students and working families.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response fully addresses all parts of the task by examining both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are well developed and supported with relevant examples, such as families using the summer break to visit relatives in different states. The writer explores personal development, family bonding, academic regression, and practical burdens on working parents effectively. Although paragraph three is accidentally repeated in the student's text, the core arguments remain well-articulated and relevant to the prompt, fully satisfying the requirements for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, moving smoothly from the introduction to the benefits of holidays, the counter-arguments, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used effectively, such as 'Nevertheless', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion'. Paragraphing is logical, although the inadvertent repetition of an entire body paragraph slightly disrupts the flow and structural elegance of the essay. Nevertheless, referencing is generally clear, and the overall progression remains easy to follow, aligning closely with the Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, employing terms like 'extended break', 'academic regression', and 'curtailing'. Less common lexical items are used with some awareness of style and collocation, such as 'well-rounded personal growth' and 'concentrated time together'. However, there are several typographical and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'teo' instead of 'two', 'contines', 'accomodates', 'broaden' instead of 'broadens', 'childern's', and 'dispresed'. Despite these minor lexical inaccuracies and typos, the vocabulary is adequate to convey precise meanings without impeding communication, earning a solid Band 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay contains a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating a variety of structures such as conditional and participial clauses ('Without the pressure of daily coursework, children have...'). There are frequent error-free sentences, alongside a few grammatical lapses, such as 'a reduce break' instead of 'a reduced break', 'portion of the what they learned', and 'would be considerably ease' instead of 'would be considerably eased'. Punctuation is generally controlled, though a few sentences begin with lowercase letters. These errors rarely impede communication and fit the profile of Band 6.5.

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