Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-14

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)

In several countries, primary and secondary class students get atleast two-month holidays in summer. Long school holidays provide students a golden opportunity to work on their skills and learn how to apply them in their practical lives. On the other hand, shorter holidays allow schools to put more emphasis on the student's education and then eventually they can complete their education early.

In Pakistan there are usually three-month holidays, and most of the students spend their time learning skills according to their desired major. For example, during my O-Level summer holidays I learned a programming language along with web development this helped me to strengthen my core for the future in the field of computer science. Later those skills helped me to win a hackathon during my A-Levels. Furthermore, long school holidays also help students to get more close to the nature because many students in Pakistan spend their holidays in mountainous regions living close to the nature. This allows them to relax and prepare well for the upcoming school days.

Conversly, shorter holidays also help students in a positive way. Many students find holidays boring, so for them shorter holidays are much more reliable because it gives them enough time to spend quality time with their families and then continue their studies in order to graduate earlier. Additionally, graduating early also allow students to gain practical experience by doing internships and getting entry level jobs. Notably, there are also some students who require special assistance from teachers in order to work so for them it is essential that they should get shorter school holidays so that they can continue their studies without having a long gap.

In conclusion, it's totally up to students how they utilize their holidays either its long or short if they spend them doing unproductive things then they are useless anyway. Schools should encourage students to spend their holidays learning new things by raising awareness or arranging summer camps so that they keep engaging with their teachers even during their holidays for a short period of time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, exploring both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. The ideas are generally well-developed and supported with relevant personal examples, such as the writer's O-Level summer experience in Pakistan and participating in a hackathon. However, the development of the arguments could be slightly more analytical rather than relying heavily on personal anecdotes, placing it securely at Band 7. The progression of thought is clear, and the overall scope of the task is properly fulfilled without any significant omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay presents a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are grouped into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs for each side of the argument, and a distinct conclusion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'On the other hand', 'For example', and 'Furthermore'. However, there are minor cohesion faults and slightly mechanical transitions, such as 'Conversly' (which also contains a spelling error) and run-on structures like 'then eventually they can complete'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, but referencing and flow could be smoother to achieve a higher band score, making Band 6.5 a fair assessment.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'practical lives', 'mountainous regions', and 'entry level jobs'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation slips, such as 'get atleast two-month holidays' instead of 'receive at least two months of holiday', and getting 'more close to the nature' instead of 'closer to nature'. Spelling errors like 'Conversly' also appear. While communication is never impeded and the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, the presence of these inaccuracies prevents the score from reaching Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at complex structures with relative clauses ('students who require special assistance') and conditional clauses ('if they spend them doing unproductive things'). However, there are frequent punctuation and grammatical errors, particularly run-on sentences and comma splices, such as 'web development this helped me' and 'internships and getting entry level jobs. Notably...'. Articles and prepositions are occasionally misused or omitted ('in summer', 'work so for them it is essential'). These errors occur frequently enough to place the essay firmly at Band 6, where simple and complex structures are mixed with some persistent grammatical faults.

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