Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

In some nations, due to long summer holidays schools are not open for primary and secondary school students. Long school holidays give students break from the studies and also keep their minds refresh. However, if long holidays given, people also believe that students may lose interest in studies. My views are articulated in the paragraphs given below.

To begin with, large breaks give students temporary leave from the studies. Students are free from homeworks and classes for certain time period. As a result, longer holidays freshen up their minds. It also reduce stress and anxiety of exams and studies in breaks. For example in long vacation, students can spend time in travel to far destinations and explore new places without any stress of school. Moreover, children can learn new skills in long vacations. To explain, learning new skill or hobby can develop children's overall personality. For instance, in large vacation period, children can learn new sports such as golf or learn new skill likewise horse-riding.

On the other hand, people also think short holidays are more beneficial than long holidays. According to people who believe in shorter holidays think, students in long vacations may loose interest in studies. To elaborate, due to long break in studies, interest in studies may decrease in children. As a result, their education may affect negatively by large vacations. For instance, many time students refuse to go to the school after long vacations. In addition, rhythm of the studies can be affected by long holidays. Large break can fluctuate the studies of children.

In conclusion, long holidays not only give children temporary break from studies but also reduce pressure. Furthermore, in long holidays children can develop new skills. However, it may lose children's interest in studies and may affect their structure of studies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the value of long holidays (temporary leave from studies, refreshing minds, learning new skills) and the arguments in favour of shorter holidays (losing interest in studies, disrupting educational rhythm). However, the development of ideas tends to be repetitive, relying on generalized statements rather than fully elaborated examples. For instance, the mention of learning 'golf' or 'horse-riding' is brief, and the counterarguments repeat the idea of 'losing interest' multiple times without adding distinct supporting perspectives. The position is clear throughout, but the depth of extension places this response comfortably at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The text exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure, utilizing standard introductory, body, and concluding sections. Logical connectors are employed to signal transitions, such as 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'According to people who believe in shorter holidays think' which creates a grammatical tangle. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct viewpoints, but the overall progression of ideas within paragraphs lacks seamless cohesion, aligning with the criteria for Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'temporary leave', 'overall personality', and 'fluctuate the studies'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'keep their minds refresh' (should be refreshed), 'homeworks' (non-countable), and 'educations may affect negatively'. Repetition of basic words like 'studies', 'long holidays', and 'vacations' limits lexical variety. While communication is not impeded, these frequent lexical slips and lack of precision restrict the score to Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures are often prone to errors. Examples include 'if long holidays given, people also believe that...' (missing auxiliary verbs) and 'According to people who believe in shorter holidays think, students...' (clausal overlap). There are frequent minor grammatical errors regarding articles, prepositions, and word forms (e.g., 'reduce stress and anxiety of exams', 'in long vacation'). Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and communication is rarely impeded, reflecting the characteristics of a Band 5.5 performance.

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

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