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)

Most of the students are looking forward for the most exciting part of their student life, it is the school breaks. In several states, elementary and high schools experience at least two months of school holidays. I certainly agree that long summer holidays are important in students.

On the one hand, several individuals disputes that shorter school breaks are imperative to the student learnings. They believe that more allocated time in school than breaks have an advantage in terms of intellectual aspects. Subsequently, students have more time in studying different subject areas and gaining more academic knowledge that are vital to their future success.

On the other hand, long school holidays is pivotal in student's life overall. For example, when I was a kid, I dedicated my school breaks in helping my mom with the household chores and visit my family's province. I learned about my parents culture through spending the school breaks on their province. These learnings are still important until this present as I use experience to overcome the struggles everyday. Moreover, in adult life, we need to focus at work and we have only little time to do other things and that is why I think it is essential to have long school holidays.

As a student, the balance of everything is important. It is excellent when you give time for studies and the same time full of experiences from your outside school life. Being young is the advantage stage where you can freely do and discover things that you like

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the value of long holidays and the arguments for shorter breaks. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others, which is typical for this level. The introduction briefly mentions the topic, and the body paragraphs present relevant viewpoints. For instance, the discussion on the academic advantages of shorter breaks in the second paragraph is somewhat general and could be extended further with more specific reasoning. Similarly, the personal example in the third paragraph is relevant in illustrating the benefits of long breaks, but the connection between childhood experiences and adult working life could be articulated more tightly. The position of the writer is generally clear throughout the response, covering the main prompt requirements even if the depth of development varies across the different arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into introduction, body, and concluding thoughts, utilizing paragraphing correctly. Logical progression is established through standard cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' to separate the contrasting viewpoints. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or slightly faulty, and referencing is not always completely clear. For example, the transition between ideas within the final paragraph feels abrupt, and some sentences lack seamless linking. Pronoun referencing could also be managed more precisely to ensure smooth connections between sentences. Overall, the organizational framework is visible and makes the text easy to follow, but it stops short of the flexible and seamless progression required for higher bands.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts and attempting some less common lexical items such as 'imperative', 'pivotal', and 'intellectual aspects'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word form. For instance, phrases like 'looking forward for' instead of 'looking forward to', 'disputes' instead of 'dispute', 'student learnings' instead of 'student learning', and 'advantage stage' instead of 'advantageous stage' reflect lexical slips. Spelling and word-form errors are present, such as 'present' instead of 'presence' or 'future', but these inaccuracies do not seriously impede overall communication, allowing the reader to understand the intended meaning despite the flaws.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and varied structures. You utilize complex sentences such as 'when I was a kid, I dedicated my school breaks in helping my mom...' and 'that is why I think it is essential...'. However, there are several errors in grammar, prepositions, and article usage throughout the text. Examples include 'important in students' instead of 'important for students', 'time in studying' instead of 'time studying', and 'focus at work' instead of 'focus on work'. Punctuation is generally manageable, but minor structural slips persist. These errors are noticeable and occur regularly, but they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to grasp the core message without significant difficulty.

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