Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-22

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 many countries, summer holidays lasted for two months or more for the students of primary and secondary schools. Summer vacation is best time of the year for the kids but there are some consequences that need to be measured by Institutes to make a positive impact of longer holidays.

In my opinion, summer holidays are the most essential part of academic year because in this period children engage into different activities, where they can actually enjoy,experiment and learn, without being worrying about grades and academic pressure, which later help them to find their interests for their career and it is the memorable time to spend with family and friends.

Although the longer break is significant for majority of school kids, but there are some consequences that are not neglectable, for instance after a longer summer vacation , many kids struggle to get back to studies, which could highly affect their academic performance, some kids got highly attached with their long vacations that they got distracted from studies, and don't wanna go back into their school routine which might affect them psychologically in their primary or secondary schools that might become dropout as soon as they entered into high school or college.

To overcome this issue, during my academic yearin the time of secondary classes, our school introduces the summer champ which was no doubt very beneficial because that was really effective and helps me not to feel unfamiliar with the classmates, infact it helps me to connect more with friends when there is no longer academic pressure of performance but just fun, teamwork,which seems like a more interactive games and learning than competing for grades.

So summer vacations for the kids of secondary and primary schools is really necessary but schools should introduce some interactive extra curriculum activities to keep students engaged in a way that their studies don't get effective and they feel disconnected with their academic studies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones. The writer presents a clear position throughout, stating that summer holidays are essential for personal development while acknowledging drawbacks like academic regression and psychological resistance to returning to school. Ideas are generally well-supported with relevant examples, such as mentioning summer camps as a solution to bridge the gap. However, some arguments, particularly around psychological impacts and dropouts, are slightly over-generalized and could be further elaborated for a higher band. Overall, the task is successfully fulfilled with a relevant and clear response that meets all prompt requirements effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a clear overall progression, dividing the response into a logical introduction, body paragraphs addressing the value and drawbacks, a proposed solution, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct ideas. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, with instances of run-on sentences and comma splices, such as '...teamwork,which seems like a more interactive games...' and over-reliance on basic conjunctions like 'and' or 'but' to link clauses. Referencing is generally clear, but some transitional phrases are missing or awkward, meaning the logical flow occasionally stumbles. Better control of cohesive devices and punctuation would elevate this score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'academic regression', 'psychological', and 'extracurricular activities' (though misspelled as 'extra curriculum'). There are several word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'lasted' instead of 'last', 'got highly attached', and 'studies don't get effective' instead of 'effective'. Spelling errors ('wanna', 'infact') and minor slips occur, but the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without severely impeding communication. To reach higher bands, the student needs to use less common vocabulary with greater precision and avoid informal contractions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at longer, multi-clause structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb tenses and subject-verb agreement, such as 'summer holidays lasted' mixing present and past contexts inappropriately, and 'some kids got... and don't wanna'. Punctuation control is weak, with multiple run-on sentences and comma splices connecting independent clauses without proper conjunctions or full stops. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they persist throughout the text and prevent the writer from achieving a higher band descriptor.

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