Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 summer, many countries' officials announce public holidays, so that people may protect themselves from the harsh effects of the hot weather. Apart from that, in numerous countries, the primary and secondary schools remaind closed during summer. It assists the children to protect themselves from the hotness of the weather and allows them to clear their minds during these vacations. However, some people suggest that these holidays should be shortenend.

During the summer holidays, students normally stay at their homes, and it allows them to stay away from going outside in the sunshine and getting sick because of the hot weather. In summer, most of the cases had been noticed, when children had to face severe heat strokes. So, it is very beneficial for student's health not to go to schools in summer. Secondly, students can visit the mountain areas, where they can enjoy lots of activities. It helps them to refresh their minds and relive the stress, as they have to spend a large amount of time while studying at school. Moreover, they can enjoy many outdoor activities there, which is really beneficial for their mental health.

In contrast, some people argue against these long-term holidays, and they believe that it diminishes the habit of regular studies in students. Usually students like to have fun and entertainment during the holidays, while they don't focus on their studies. Furthermore, some students may become addicted to mobile phones, playing games and watching useless movies on youtube. Therefore, some people suggest that the schools should only announce short-term holidays.

In conclusion, in many parts of the world, primary and secondary schools are generally closed during the summer months. It facilitates students to prevent againt heat strokes, and spend some quality time with the family. While others believe that short-term holidays are the best option because it allows the students to remain focused on their academic tasks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones. The position is clear throughout, and relevant ideas are presented, such as health benefits from avoiding extreme heat and the opportunity to travel, as well as counterarguments regarding a decline in study habits and excessive screen time. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed; for example, the mention of travelling to mountain areas is not fully expanded with specific examples or deep explanation. Because all parts of the prompt are covered with a clear stance and supported ideas, the response firmly fits into Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The text demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure. Each paragraph has a distinct focus: introduction, advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as "Apart from that", "Secondly", "Moreover", and "In contrast". However, some cohesion is slightly mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is not always completely natural (e.g., "in most of the cases had been noticed"). Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, guiding the reader logically through the different viewpoints, which aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as "primary and secondary schools", "severe heat strokes", "mental health", and "academic tasks". There are, however, noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as "hotness of the weather", "stay away from going outside", and "prevent againt". Spelling mistakes like "remaind" and "shortenend" also occur. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they prevent the lexical score from reaching Band 7.0, making Band 6.0 an accurate reflection of the student's word choice and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like conditional and relative clauses (e.g., "as they have to spend a large amount of time while studying at school"). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing choices throughout the text, such as "most of the cases had been noticed", "help them to relive the stress", and the incorrect tense usage in "remaind closed". Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent minor errors in tense consistency and preposition use mean that error-free sentences are not in the majority. This performance corresponds directly to a Band 6.0 rating.

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