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, primary and secondary schools close for two months or more in the summer holidays. The value of long term summer holidays is lower than shorter holidays. I will discuss both in detail.

The summer holidays are usually common in hot weather countries due to the fact government schedule the long term holidays for pupil's health care. In these countries, when the weather is hot outside it can cause many serious health problems, such as fever, skin cancer and other diseases which are usually spread by roaming under hot conditions. Consequently, long term summer holidays plays an important role in student's health.

There are also many arguments from parents, teachers and sometimes from students regarding to long term holidays. The syllabus of many institutions are being planned for the whole year and when the long term holidays cover many of the year's time then students, teachers and sometimes parents feel it difficult to complete the syllabus. The arguments form teachers and from parents show that scholars should spend their time on their syllabus by developing different strategies. Government should make various plans for the students' time of their studies, such as by changes school hours and by providing guidelines to the health authorities for serious health concerns.

When students waste a considerable part of time in long term holidays they should not focus on their studies again when the schools are opening. So, the value of shorter school holidays arguments might higher than long term holidays.

To conclude, long term holidays may help to cope with different health issues, but by closing schools for long term government can waste much of students' time and also their ability to concentrate properly on their studies. Consequently, arguments which are in favour of shorter term holidays can be more valuable than long term holidays.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the value of long school holidays (such as protecting student health from extreme heat) and the arguments in favour of shorter holidays (such as syllabus completion and concentration issues). However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on health focuses narrowly on hot weather countries and mentions extreme conditions like skin cancer without much extension. The position is stated early on, noting that the value of long holidays is lower, and maintained throughout. While all parts are addressed, the arguments lack depth and rely on generalisations, placing this response firmly in Band 6. The ideas are relevant, but some aspects, particularly the educational drawbacks, are under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, moving from an introduction to body paragraphs discussing health benefits, educational drawbacks, and a conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, transitions like 'Consequently, long term summer holidays plays' and 'So, the value of shorter school holidays arguments might higher' feel slightly awkward or forced. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'The arguments form teachers and from parents show that scholars should spend their time on their syllabus.' Paragraph organisation is logical, but the progression within paragraphs stumbles slightly due to repetitive sentence structures and clunky cohesive ties. Overall, these features align well with the Band 6 descriptor for Coherence and Cohesion.

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', 'syllabus', and 'concentration properly'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form throughout the text. Examples include 'long term summer holidays plays' (subject-verb agreement error with 'plays'), 'roaming under hot conditions' (unnatural collocation), and 'the value of shorter school holidays arguments might higher' (missing verb). The writer attempts less common vocabulary, such as 'considerable part of time' and 'health authorities', but these attempts are accompanied by inaccuracies that occasionally hinder precision. The lexical range is sufficient to communicate the main points, but errors in word formation and collocation prevent it from reaching a higher band, making Band 6 appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some attempt at subordination and relative clauses, such as in 'when the weather is hot outside it can cause many serious health problems'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in tense usage, articles, and prepositions. Examples include 'government schedule' (should be 'governments schedule' or 'the government schedules'), 'pupil's health care' (should be plural 'pupils' health'), 'the syllabus of many institutions are being planned' (subject-verb agreement), and 'waste a considerable part of time in long term holidays' (inappropriate preposition). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical inaccuracies persist throughout, occasionally causing slight difficulty for the reader, though they do not impede overall communication. This performance fits the Band 5 to Band 6 profile, with a 5.5 accurately reflecting the frequency of structural slips.

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