Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

It is widely argued that in many countries educational institutions remained closed for more than two months as summer vacations. I believe that commencement of these summer holidays are much needed but at the same time prolonged vacations are hugely impacting on learning behavior of students.

Overall summer vacations are exquisite moments for students and they can cherish it by spending time with their families. Longer school holidays are very essential to reduce the boredom of daily routine and keep them safe from scrunching heat of sun in summers. For instance during vacations students can have plenty of time to learn unique skill like cooking, knitting, graphic designing and some other skills which they want to learn and can utilize it to earn money. Therefore vacations are very much necessary in school days but its prolonged time period can be disadvantageous in many ways.

However most probably longer holidays can effect the learning pattern of students, holidays make them less physically active and more bed-ridden. They waste their most of time in watching tv, playing addictive games and staying home which make them less interactive, obese and reduce their mental functioning. Comparatively shorter holidays only for one month can be beneficial and submission of homework in designated time would also be impactful. Therefore, schools must allow only short span of break from studies and also keep a regular check on students and give them some playful activities and goals to achieve.

In conclusion, it is clear that vacations are very essential in students' life but it should not be very much longer because it can make students less physically and mentally active.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

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. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For example, while the benefits of long holidays such as learning unique skills like cooking or graphic design are fairly well explained, the arguments regarding shorter holidays are somewhat repetitive and could be extended further with more specific examples. Relevant ideas are presented, but a tendency to generalise slightly limits the depth of the overall discussion, placing the response firmly at this level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear, logical progression of ideas from introduction to conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised appropriately, separating the distinct prompt questions into dedicated paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'For instance', 'However', and 'In conclusion' are present, but their usage can occasionally feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional transitional links between sentences feel slightly abrupt, which prevents the logical flow from being fully seamless throughout the entire piece.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common lexical items such as 'commencement', 'prolonged', and 'interactive'. However, there are notable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'scrunching heat' instead of 'scorching heat', 'bed-ridden' instead of 'sedentary', and 'effect' used as a verb where 'affect' is required. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they reveal a lack of precise control over more advanced vocabulary and stylistic phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at varied syntactic structures. There are, however, several grammatical and punctuation errors present, such as subject-verb agreement issues in 'educational institutions remained closed' and 'commencement... are', as well as prepositional and article inconsistencies like 'in school days' and 'most of time'. Fortunately, these errors rarely impede communication and the meaning remains generally clear. To reach a higher level, the writer would need to produce more frequent error-free sentences while maintaining complex structures.

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