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 recent years, there has been growing debate about whether primary and secondary schools should close for two months or more during the summer vacations. From my perspective, both arguments are equally important for individuals and society. Although extended holidays provide a break from stressful workload to students, I believe shorter vacations provide a better understanding of practical skills and improve academic performances.

On the one hand, there are several arguments which contribute to in favore of extended school vacations. Longer school holidays provide more time to relax and help student unwind because learners are frustated due to heavy workload. Moreover, students feel stressed because of regular assignments and tests. Therefore, they need more time to enjoy their own leisure time with their favorite activities. For instance, students can take part in extracurriculum activities, such as sports and swimming. Students could spend more time with family and enjoy leisure hours during extended holidays.

On the other hand, shorter holidays also provide some benefits to students, such as they are able to review their syllabus without forgetting their previous topics. As a result, they need less revision when they return to school and improve academic performances. For example, students who have less study break may remember mathematical and communication skills. Despite this, shorter holidays are more beneficial for the working parents because they less need to look after their children.

In conclusion, longer school vacations provide an opportunities for student to spend more time with parents, whereas shorter holidays important for academic performances.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task, discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones. A clear position is stated in the introduction, noting that both perspectives have merits. Ideas are generally relevant, such as reducing stress and participating in extracurricular activities for long holidays, and improving academic retention and helping working parents for shorter ones. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or repetitive, such as the points regarding stress and revision. Overall, the response meets the criteria for Band 6.0 as it addresses all parts of the task with relevant ideas, though some expansion is limited.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, two body paragraphs representing each side of the argument, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader through the text. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen in phrases like 'contribute to in favore of' and repetitive sentence structures that slightly disrupt smooth progression. Overall, the organizational structure is coherent and warrants a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'extracurricular activities', 'academic performances', and 'working parents'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'contribute to in favore of', 'stressful workload' instead of heavy workload, 'frustated' (spelling error), and 'extracurriculum'. These errors do not impede overall communication, but they restrict the score to a Band 6.0, as the vocabulary is minimally adequate and contains frequent slips in word formation and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional or relative clauses such as 'students who have less study break may remember mathematical and communication skills'. However, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including 'help student unwind' (missing plural/article), 'they less need to look after' (awkward adverb placement), and agreement issues like 'holidays important for academic performances' (missing verb). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the core message, they occur frequently enough to prevent the score from reaching Band 6.5. Band 6.0 is appropriate here.

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