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)

Primary and secondary schools in many nations have summer vacations for two months or sometimes longer. Both long and short holidays are significant, as the former support mental relaxation and enjoyment, while the latter are crucial for academic development and completing coursework on time.

On the one hand, extended vacations play a significant role in other extracurricular activities. Firstly, it allows individuals to keep themselves relaxed and calm. Secondly, students and teachers can learn other skills, for example, courses like graphic design, basic and advanced Python, and digital marketing, to boost their earnings. Last but not least, having enough holidays play significanyt role in spending quality time with family arrange outdoor activities like cricket and badminton to keep muscles strong. In addition to that, females can learn household skills like cooking, cleaning, and personal care.

On the flip side, short school holidays allow students to keep pace with studies.Moreover, the curriculum could be covered in a manageable way; consequently, it provides benefits to learners through extra reading and revision for board exams. Furthermore, limited vacations help administrators to provide a roadmap for planning and strategies on time for excellent results; for exampole continue engaging studnets can boost academic results, which provides overall growth to the institute. Additionally, teachers remain up to date with lectures and planning.

Overall, having a balanced approach provides a strong foundation for mentors as well as students in terms of refreshment, extracurricular activities, physical and mental wellbeing, and institutional growth. Both parameters are an art and a part of achievement.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones. The writer successfully outlines the benefits of long breaks, such as mental relaxation and acquiring new skills like Python or digital marketing, while also presenting the advantages of shorter holidays, such as keeping pace with studies and allowing administrators to plan effectively. However, some ideas feel slightly underdeveloped or lack concrete examples from personal experience, leaning on generalisations. For instance, the transition into extracurricular activities jumps quickly between points without deep elaboration. Nevertheless, a clear position is maintained throughout, satisfying the requirements for Band 6.5, which is best represented here by a score of 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The writer attempts to guide the reader using cohesive devices and signposting language, such as 'On the one hand', 'Secondly', and 'On the flip side'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the phrase 'having enough holidays play significanyt role' introduces awkward transitions, and the flow within the second body paragraph becomes cluttered with too many disparate ideas grouped together, such as digital marketing, family time, cricket, and household skills. Paragraphing is used to separate the opposing arguments, which helps readability, but the overall logical progression could be smoother. This aligns closely with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'extracurricular activities', 'administrative', and 'digital marketing'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that detract from the overall quality, such as 'significanyt' instead of 'significant', 'exampole', and 'studnets'. Collocations are occasionally unnatural, as seen in 'continue engaging studnets can boost academic results'. Despite these limitations, the vocabulary used is sufficient to convey the main message without causing significant communication breakdowns. The lexical range and frequency of errors place this response firmly at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some attempt at variety with structures like conditional or participial clauses ('having a balanced approach provides...'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('having enough holidays play' instead of 'plays'), spelling mistakes, and awkward punctuation. Furthermore, some sentences become run-on or structurally convoluted, such as 'Furthermore, limited vacations help administrators to provide a roadmap for planning and strategies on time for excellent results; for exampole continue engaging studnets can boost academic results...'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. The control of grammar corresponds to a Band 6.0.

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