Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-02

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 6.5)

In many countries, schools close for two months or even longer during the summer. While long holidays provides students with opportunities to relax and develop outside the classroom, shorter holidays can help them to maintain academic progress and avoid forgetting what they have learned.

There are several benefits of long school holidays. Firstly, students need to enough time to recover from the pressure of studies, examinations and daily school routines. A lengthy break allow to relax mentally and spend quality time with families. Secondly, summer holidays give children an opportunity to participate in activities which is not be possible during the academic year, such as travelling, playing sports, learning new skills or doing creative hobbies. Moreover, teachers can also use this period to rest and prepare their lessons for the next academic year.

However, there are also some strong causes in favour of shorter school holidays. The most important is that students may forget some knowledge and skills they learned during the previous term, especially in subjects which require regular practice, such as mathematics and languages. As the result, teachers may have to spend a lot of time reviewing old material when school starts again. Shorter breaks can help students to maintain a regular learning routine. In addition, long holidays can be difficult for working parents, because they may has problems in arranging childcare for their children.

In conclusion, long school holidays provide important opportunities for relaxation, family time and personal development. Nevertheless, shorter holidays can help students retain their academic knowledge and also make life easier for working parents. Therefore, schools should have a balanced holiday schedule which gives students enough rest without causing too much difficulty to their education.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones, maintaining a clear position throughout. The student presents relevant ideas, such as student well-being and parental convenience, fulfilling the requirements for the mid-band level. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed rather than fully extended; for example, the point about teachers resting and preparing lessons is introduced briefly without deeper elaboration. To reach the next higher band, the writer needs to expand on all main points with more detailed explanations, richer examples, or deeper analysis, ensuring every argument receives equal and thorough development.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organization with an overall coherent arrangement and a well-defined progression of ideas throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving smoothly from an introduction to body paragraphs discussing the pros and cons, and concluding with a balanced summary. The student uses a variety of cohesive devices effectively, such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Moreover', and 'However'. Paragraphing is used appropriately and sufficiently to structure the argument. While the referencing is generally clear, occasional mechanical transitions prevent the text from achieving a more fluid and sophisticated level of cohesion. Further progression into the higher bands would require more subtle and seamless transitional phrases rather than standard listing devices.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related terms such as 'academic year', 'extracurricular activities', 'personal development', and 'childcare'. There are also attempts to use less common items and phrases. However, some minor lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing occur, such as 'strong causes' instead of 'strong arguments' or 'compelling reasons'. Additionally, there are minor slips in word form and collocation, which show a developing command of the language. These minor errors do not impede communication, placing the vocabulary firmly in the competent range. To achieve a higher band, the student should aim for greater precision in word choice and incorporate more sophisticated, natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over standard grammatical patterns. The student attempts complex structures, successfully incorporating subordinate clauses, conditional ideas, and infinitive phrases. However, a number of grammatical errors persist, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('holidays provides', 'break allow', 'which is not be', 'may has problems'), missing prepositions, and article inaccuracies. These errors occur across the text, yet they rarely impede overall communication or reader understanding. To move towards higher bands, the writer must eliminate basic agreement slips and produce a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences with flawless punctuation and structural control.

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

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