Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-16

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)

There is an ongoing debate whether summer holidays should remain short or as long as for two months. Some people believe that summer holidays should last for atleast two months. whereas other prefer short holidays. This essay will discuss both perspectives before explaining why I believe that it should last for two months.

On the one hand, those who

support long holidays argue that it is necessary to engage students in other activities rather than just studies. The main reason for this is that when students spend everyday in school they just feel like it is a burden to them. This can lead to mental distress and many other issues. For example when we are busy for a week then there is only the weekend that makes you feel like today is your me time. Therefore supporter for long holidays believe that it is important to give a break to students so that they can spend there me time.

However others believe for shorter holidays because students can focus on there academics more efficiently and also they will learn more instead of just wasting there time in long holidays. Moreover those who are busy in there businesses and jobs they also support short holidays for one major reason that they have not enough time to spend vacations with there children.

In conclusion, both long and short holidays have their own merit. However I believe that long holidays are beneficial, mainly because students need a break and skip from there usual routine.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones, concluding with a clear personal position. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies on generalisations rather than deeply extended explanations. For instance, the discussion on mental distress is introduced ('when students spend everyday in school they just feel like it is a burden') but lacks specific elaboration or concrete examples. Similarly, the point regarding parents being busy in businesses is mentioned briefly without significant extension. The response satisfies the requirements for Band 6 because it addresses all parts of the task with relevant ideas, although some sections are slightly under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, following a logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a conclusion. Transitional markers such as 'On the one hand', 'However', and 'In conclusion' are employed to guide the reader through the text. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the sentence structure linking clauses with punctuation is occasionally weak, such as 'Some people believe that summer holidays should last for atleast two months. whereas other prefer short holidays', where a full stop is inappropriately placed before 'whereas'. Furthermore, pronoun referencing like 'when we are busy' shifts point of view uncomfortably. Cohesion is sufficient for a Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student displays an adequate vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'ongoing debate', 'mental distress', and 'usual routine'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the response, including 'atleast' instead of 'at least', 'supporter' instead of 'supporters', 'there' instead of 'their' or 'there', and 'skip from' instead of 'break from'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they demonstrate limited control over lexical precision and spelling conventions. This aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor, which notes an adequate range with some errors in spelling and word choice that do not prevent the message from being understood.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional-style clauses and subordinate clauses ('This essay will discuss both perspectives before explaining why I believe that...'). However, there are frequent grammatical inaccuracies and punctuation errors, including fragment sentences like 'whereas other prefer short holidays' and faulty prepositional or verbal collocations ('spend there me time', 'have not enough time'). Punctuation errors are also present, such as missing commas after introductory transitional phrases ('In conclusion, both...'). Despite these recurring errors, the meaning remains comprehensible throughout, placing the grammar squarely in the Band 6 category due to a mix of structures and non-impeding mistakes.

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