Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-19

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)

long summer holidays are common in mnay countries, particularly for primary and secondary school students. While an extended break can provide several benefits, there are also strong arguments for reducing the length of school holidays.

One important advantage of long school holidays is that they give students sufficient time to rest and recover from academic pressure. During the school year, children have to attend classes, complete hoemwork and prepare for examination. A lengthty break allows them to relax and spend quality time with their families. In addition, students can use this period to develop interests outside the classroom, suchh as playing sports, reading books or travelling. These activities can improve their social skillls and overall well-being. Long holidays can also give teachers enough time to prepare lessons and undertake professional training before the new academic year begins.

On the other hand, shorted holidays can have several advantages. Firstly, students are less likey to forget what they have learned if they return to school after a relatively short break. After a two-month holidays, some children may need considerable time to remeber previsouly learned information, which can slow down their progress. Secondly, shorter holidays may provide a more consistent learning routine. This can be particularly beneficial for younger children who often need regurlar practice to maintain their reading, writing and mathematical skills. Furthermore, shorter breaks can be helpful for working parents because arranging childcare for a long period can be difficult and expensive.

In conclusion, long school holidays allow students to rest, spend timw woth their family and pursue personal interests, whereas, shorter holidays can help maintain academic progress and provide a more consistent routine. Both approaches have clear benefits, depending on studnets's educational and perosna; needs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt directly, examining 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 are relevant and supported with appropriate examples and explanations, such as mentioning academic pressure, family time, and the logistical challenges faced by working parents. Although some points could be expanded further, the coverage is well-balanced and meets the requirements of the task effectively. The response demonstrates a clear understanding of the prompt and develops the central arguments logically from introduction to conclusion, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear overall progression and logical organisation. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the discussion on long holidays, the arguments for shorter holidays, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'One important advantage', 'In addition', 'On the other hand', 'Firstly', and 'Furthermore' are employed to guide the reader through the arguments. Although some referencing and linking phrases are somewhat mechanical, the progression of ideas remains easy to follow throughout the text, satisfying the criteria for a solid Band 7.0 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate and functional range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'professional training', 'academic pressure', 'consistent learning routine', and 'logistical challenges'. However, there are a number of spelling and typographical errors throughout the response, including 'mnay' for many, 'hoemwork' for homework, 'lengthty' for lengthy, 'suchh' for such, 'skillls' for skills, 'shorted' for shorter, 'likey' for likely, 'remeber' for remember, 'previsouly' for previously, 'regurlar' for regular, 'timw woth' for time with, and 'studnets's' for students'. While these errors do not impede communication, their frequency prevents the lexical score from reaching higher bands, making Band 6.0 an appropriate evaluation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with attempts at subordinate clauses and conditional constructions such as 'While an extended break can provide several benefits, there are also strong arguments...' and 'This can be particularly beneficial for younger children who often need regular practice...'. There are some grammatical and punctuation inaccuracies, such as incorrect subject-verb agreement or article usage in places, alongside frequent typographical slip-ups. Nonetheless, the meaning remains clear throughout, and the grammatical errors rarely impede communication, placing the writing firmly in the Band 6.0 category.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.