Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-03

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, elementary and high schools remain closed for more than two months in summer. This allows students to actively participate in extracurricular activities. However some may argue in favor of shorter school holidays to keep children intact with their curriculum.

On the one hand, students go camping during these holidays taking part in activities that might help them explore their interests. Some may travel, exploring different cultures. This helps youngsters with self exploration alongside with the knowledge of what's happening in the world. For example, a someone who has no knowledge of photography as a career visiting a valley. Here coming across alot of beautiful scenery, seeing a professional may drive the curiosity towards a passion.

On the other hand, parents might want shorter holidays for their children. Staying away from school continuously for months can create a lag in their study. Moreover, some students may find it hard coming back on track. For instance, many students delve themselves in some activities during this period. When school reopens being unable to manage these along with school results in gap year.

In my opinion, students should make the most out of this period. They should enjoy and try their best to find what they want to pursue in life. Although, the concerns are valid but such effects can be controlled by monitoring their activities throughout this time.

In conclusion, summer holidays play a vital role in the upbringing of the children as they get to spend more time with their parents and can be helpful in developing their career interests.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones, followed by a clear personal stance in the conclusion. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the discussion on extracurricular activities and career exploration is reasonably well-supported with the example of a budding photographer visiting a valley, yet the arguments regarding shorter holidays are somewhat superficial. The point about students experiencing a study lag and resulting in a 'gap year' is under-developed and slightly unclear, as a gap year typically implies a planned break before university rather than being held back a year due to summer forgetting. To reach a higher band, all parts of the prompt require equal depth of extension and fully realised supporting arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

Your essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear chronological and topical progression throughout the response. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, dividing the introduction, body paragraphs covering both perspectives, personal opinion, and conclusion logically. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical or faulty in its referencing. For example, the phrase 'a someone' contains a minor referencing clash, and pronoun referencing in sentences like 'When school reopens being unable to manage these along with school results in gap year' creates ambiguity. To achieve a higher level, the flow between sentences needs to be smoother, ensuring that referencing words connect ideas seamlessly without disrupting the reader's progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, successfully communicating your main ideas with a mix of everyday language and some less common attempts such as 'extracurricular activities', 'self exploration', and 'upbringing'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. Phrases such as 'keep children intact with their curriculum' and 'delve themselves in some activities' use incorrect collocations, while 'alot' is a spelling error. These slips do not impede overall communication, but they restrict your score. To reach a higher lexical band, you should incorporate a wider, more natural range of sophisticated vocabulary and idiomatic phrases with precise control over word formation and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout the essay, utilizing structures like conditional and subordinate clauses such as 'When school reopens being unable to manage these along with school results in gap year'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('a someone'), awkward participial phrases ('When school reopens being unable to manage...'), and minor prepositional misuses. Fortunately, these errors rarely impede communication and your meaning remains mostly clear. To move up to a higher band, you need to produce a higher proportion of error-free sentences while maintaining control over complex grammatical structures, ensuring that punctuation and modifier placement are handled accurately.

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

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