Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-15

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 today's contemporary society, summer holidays have become increasingly popular among schools. It is often argued that this time period helps students to enhance their creativity and unwind while others believe the time span of holidays should be shorter than two months. I strongly agree with the statement of two to three months of holidays given to students and in this essay I will explain why.

One of the main advantages of long vacations is that it encourages creativity among students. The students are encouraged to work on different projects given in homework which not only braodens their perspectives but also teaches them to apply their theoretical knowledge into real life. For instance, they are required to work on the projects of recycling which encourages students to make useful and attractive items from recycled materials. Secondly, long vacations allow them to unwind by going on a family trip, which not only gives them the exposure of different places but also gives them the opportunity to learn about different areas and their customs and traditions. In addition, two to three months of holidays allow students to come back to school with fresh minds and active bodies.

By contast, some people believe that summer holidays time span should be shorter because it distracts student from studies and disrupts their academic schedule and active lifestyle. Though, it is correct to some extent because it gives students leniency. For example, during vacations students are less likely to perform well as they used to do in schools as they are far away from the competitive environment. Though, this can be controlled by school management like giving proper summer homework, conducting online meetings for students after every 15 days in which they can analyze the reports of students from time to time.

All things considered, although long vacations can make students lazy and distract them from a proper track, I believe this can be reduced by the proper counselling and the checking of students. I agree that the advantages of long holidays outweigh its disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones, whilst also stating a clear personal position in the introduction. The ideas are generally well developed and supported with relevant examples, such as mentioning practical projects like recycling and family trips for the first part, and the loss of academic routine for the second part. However, the conclusion and stance in the introduction are slightly muddled; the prompt asks 'What is the value...?' and 'What are the arguments in favour of shorter...?', but the student frames their thesis around agreeing with a statement about 'two to three months of holidays', which slightly misinterprets the prompt's open-ended questions. Despite this minor misdirection, the main body paragraphs successfully tackle both required aspects of the prompt with adequate depth and relevant explanations, meeting the criteria for a solid Band 6.5 or 7.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a clear overall progression and logical organisation. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the advantages, the counterarguments, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed reasonably well to guide the reader through the text, such as 'One of the main advantages', 'Secondly', and 'By contast'. However, there are some instances of repetitive or slightly mechanical cohesion, and minor referencing issues. For example, the transition into the counterargument uses 'By contast' (a spelling error) and the flow between sentences occasionally feels slightly abrupt. Paragraphs are generally well-built around central topics, but the cohesive network lacks the seamless flexibility required for higher bands. Overall, the structural framework is clear and follows standard essay conventions, earning a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common lexical items such as 'contemporary society', 'broadens their perspectives', 'competitive environment', and 'academic schedule'. However, there are notable lexical errors and spelling mistakes throughout the text, such as 'braodens' instead of 'broadens', 'contast' instead of 'contrast', and awkward phrasing like 'summer holidays time span'. The student also relies on repetitive phrasing when introducing supporting points. While the range is sufficient to communicate the main ideas clearly, the frequency of word-choice and spelling inaccuracies prevents the response from achieving a higher band. Vocabulary control is typical of a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures appropriately in places (e.g., 'which not only broadens their perspectives but also teaches them...'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, such as article misuse ('the time span of holidays', 'the projects of recycling'), subject-verb agreement issues ('The students are encouraged... The students are...'), and minor punctuation or prepositions errors ('distract student from studies'). These errors do not impede overall communication, but they occur frequently enough to preclude a Band 7. The sentence structures show variety, but control over complex forms needs strengthening.

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