Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-30

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. While longer school holidays provide various benefits for students and teachers. Shorter holidays help students maintain their academic progress.

There are various advantages of having long school holidays. Students can have break and relax from the academic pressure. It makes their main refresh from all those assignments stress and tension. For example; when student have their break in between their courses, where they can spend their quality time with the family members. Also, they can spend doing the things they like most. In addition to this, student will have enough time to prepare for the next course or classes within that break. They can go to holidays with their family members and have quality time during that time. Furthermore, teachers can utilize this time as a preparation, relax and develop their professional skills.

However, there are arguments in favour of shorter school holidays. This is because there are some students who need regular practice and classes. Students might forget whatever they have learned during the break. Consequently, this will break students' reading habit because they get busy enjoying the holidays. And, the teachers have to spend their time for revision after the school holiday. Shorter break could help to maintain the reading routine.

In conclusion, longer holidays will provide both teachers and students time to get time for themselves after the stressful academic courses. Also, the shorter holidays could maintain the consistency in reading habit. Therefore,balancing between both of them is equally important.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones, as requested by the prompt. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. However, some ideas are repetitive and underdeveloped. For example, in the second paragraph, the ideas of relaxation and spending time with family are reiterated using slightly different phrasing without adding significant depth. The phrase "make their main refresh from all those assignments stress and tension" is also somewhat unclear andawkward. Overall, the response covers the prompt adequately, earning a band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, separating the introduction, the value of long holidays, the arguments for shorter holidays, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as "In addition to this," "Furthermore," and "However," but their application is at times mechanical or slightly unnatural, as seen in the fragmented opening sentences of the first paragraph where a dependent clause is punctuated as an independent sentence ("While longer school holidays provide various benefits for students and teachers. Shorter holidays help..."). Referencing is generally clear, though progression within paragraphs can feel repetitive. These features align well with the band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, touching upon relevant educational themes such as "academic pressure," "assignments stress," and "professional skills." However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as "make their main refresh" instead of "refresh themselves," and "go to holidays" instead of "go on holidays." Spelling is generally fine, but lexical control is inconsistent, and attempts at less common vocabulary occasionally result in awkward phrasing. This performance is characteristic of a band 6.0 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional and temporal clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the text. Examples include sentence fragments in the opening paragraph, missing articles ("when student have their break"), subject-verb agreement issues ("student will have", "student will get"), and awkward phrasing like "spend doing the things". Punctuation is also faulty in places, such as the incorrect semicolon usage in "For example; when student have...". While these errors do not severely impede overall communication, they occur too regularly to reach a band 7.0, securing a solid band 6.0.

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