Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-17

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 6.5)

In many countries school s provide students with a summer break lasting two months or more. While a long holiday can offer several important benefits, there are also strong arguments for reducing the length of school vacations. This essay will discuss both views.

On the one hand, There are several advantages to having a long holidays. Firstly, students need sufficient time to relax after a academic year. A lengthy holiday can reduce stress, allowing children to return to school refreshed and more motivated. Secondly, they can spend more time with their family and friends. Children can also use this period to develop practical skills through hobbies, sports, reading or summer jobs. For example, a student might learn swimming, a musical instrument or a new language during the holidays. These experiences can contribute to personal development in ways that regular classroom lessons cannot always provide.

However, shorter school holidays also have significant advantages. The most obvious is that students are less likely to forget what they have learned. After being away from school for several months, children may need considerable time to revise previous material before beginning new topics. Shorter breaks can therefore provide greater continuity in education. In addition, shorter holidays can be beneficial for working parents, who may struggle to arrange childcare for their children during a long vacation. Regular school attendance can provide children with a stable routine as well.

In my opinion, both approaches have clear benefits, but the ideal system would combine adequate rest with educational continuity. A moderately long summer break, accompanied by shorter breaks throughout the academic year, could allow students to recover from academic pressure without losing too much of their knowledge.

In conclusion, long holidays are valuable because they allow students to rest, spend time with family and pursue activities outside school. Nevertheless, shorter holidays can reduce learning loss and make family life easier for working parents. A balanced school calendar could provide the benefits of both systems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response fully addresses both parts of the prompt by discussing the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones. The student presents a clear position throughout the essay and develops relevant ideas adequately, such as mentioning stress reduction and personal development for the first part, and educational continuity and working parents' needs for the second part. The arguments are supported with relevant examples like learning a musical instrument or swimming. Overall, the task is well handled and meets the expectations for a Band 7.0 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are coherently structured, with distinct introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different trains of thought. Cohesive devices are employed with reasonable flexibility, such as 'On the one hand', 'However', 'In addition', and 'In conclusion', guiding the reader smoothly through the writer's arguments. Although some cohesive phrasing is fairly standard, the overall flow remains natural and easy to follow, aligning closely with Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision, using terms like 'personal development', 'educational continuity', 'academic pressure', and 'stable routine'. There are occasional awkward collocations or minor slips, such as 'after a academic year' instead of 'an academic year', but these do not impede communication. The writer attempts some less common lexical items with general success, placing this response firmly in the Band 6.5 to 7.0 range, comfortably achieving a solid 7.0 for lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The writer uses a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating frequent error-free sentences alongside complex structures like conditional or participial clauses. There are a few minor grammatical slips and punctuation issues, such as the capitalisation error in 'There are several advantages' and the article mistake 'after a academic year'. However, control of grammar and punctuation is generally good, and these occasional errors do not impede communication, supporting a Band 7.0 score.

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