Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Long and short summer holidays have been the matter of debate. In many countries, primary schools and secondary schools remain closed for two months or more duration during summer season. School holidays plays significant role for students.

To commence with, long holidays are preferred during summer season in many countries. The possible reasons are health benefits, more family time, upgrading skills and recovery from academic stress. To justify it, elementary school students need sufficient time to regain energy which they have spent in their academic year. Moreover, regular classwork and piece of works drained students completely. For example, Once a survey was conducted for elementary school students, how they manage their physical and mental health. The result showed that students do not get any family time and are always drained.

On the other hand,shorter summer holidays for students studying in primary and secondary schools have certain advantages . The supporting reasons are students forget less of what they learned, Parents who work may find it easier to manage childcare. Moreover, Schools can organize Educational camps or extra curriculum camps for development of student from all aspects. For instance, in my school when I was in 10th standard, Summer camps were organized where I learned about Communication skills. As a result, a lot of students developed new skills in that time period.

In a nutshell, schools should remain closed for an appropriate period, particularly when temperatures remain extremely high during the summer and there is a greater risk of students becoming ill.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.0

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. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. The ideas presented in the body paragraphs, such as health benefits and childcare management, are relevant. However, some arguments lack full extension and deep support. For example, the reference to the survey about elementary school students is somewhat generalised and lacks specific data. Despite these minor limitations in development, the main requirements of the task are adequately covered, fulfilling the descriptors for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion, and distinct body paragraphs addressing each part of the prompt. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'To commence with', 'Moreover', and 'On the other hand', although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional minor cohesion issues appear, such as the abrupt transition in the concluding sentence. Overall, the organizational structure is logical and easy to follow, aligning well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'elementary school', 'academic stress', and 'extra curriculum camps' (though the latter contains a minor collocation slip). There are some noticeable lexical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'piece of works drained students completely' and 'upgrading skills'. Spelling is generally accurate, but word choice occasionally lacks precision. Communication is not impeded by these inaccuracies, and the vocabulary employed satisfies the requirements for a Band 6.0 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. The writer attempts various complex structures, such as relative clauses and conditional statements, though some attempts contain structural or agreement errors, as seen in 'School holidays plays significant role' and 'Parents who work may find it easier to manage childcare' (minor punctuation/capitalisation slips). There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly missing articles ('shorter summer holidays', 'Parents who work') and subject-verb agreement. However, these errors rarely impede overall communication, placing the response solidly at Band 6.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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