Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

In some parts of the world, schools are closed for a couple of months in the summer season, and it is often debated whether long holidays are beneficial for students or shorter holidays are better. In my opinion, long holidays offer an amazing opportunity for family bonding and more time for sports related activities. On the other hand, shorter holidays help students to keep a consistent focus on their studies, they offer an ample time for teachers to cover the syllabus.

Firstly, the long vacations from schools allow children to have a better bond with thier families. In this era, even young children are busy due to the hectic routines of school and homework. This makes them a bit distant them from their families. Meanwhile, the long, free days of summer holidays help them to improve that weakened relation with thier kins. For instance, a long picnic with the siblings can enchance their lover for each other. Additionally, longer holidays offer great oppurtunities for students to persue a non academic activity like sports. Playing all day long without the consistent pressure of studies can make them stronger and healthier. For example, consistenly going to ground in the summer can help them find a sports talent which they would not have noticed otherwise.

Conversely, shorter holidays let the students to focus on their studies. The academic concentration keeps them away from the potential distractions that can damage their career for good. For example, sometimes students lose their rythum to study in holidays and face difficulty in studies. Additionally, more days for schooling allow teachers to complete the syllabus thoroughly. They do not have to rush their work because one fourth of the year is going to be offcampus for students. The more their is time for educating children, the more teachers can teach in depth.

Overall, long holidays offer time for an enhanced family relations and co curricular activites. Contrary to it, more time for schooling allows teachers to focus on completing the depth of concepts rather than the time needed to cover syllabus, and along with it, students are less likely to waste their academic focus.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones, maintaining a clear position throughout. Ideas such as family bonding and academic focus are presented and supported with examples, satisfying the requirements of the lower band level. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed rather than fully extended; for instance, the notion that summer holidays help students find sports talent is mentioned briefly without a deeper exploration of how or why this occurs. To reach a higher band, all main arguments would need more thorough elaboration, ensuring that every supporting example is fully unpacked to demonstrate a more complete development of ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout, presenting an introduction, well-defined body paragraphs for each side of the argument, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices are used effectively to guide the reader, such as 'Firstly', 'Additionally', and 'Conversely', which showcase a coherent overall arrangement. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, separating the positive aspects of long holidays from the benefits of shorter ones. To move towards an even higher band, the writer could employ more sophisticated and less mechanical cohesive devices, ensuring that referencing and transitions between sentences flow with greater subtlety and flexibility.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'hectic routines', 'syllabus', and 'potential distractions'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and spelling that reflect the current band level. For example, terms like 'sports related activities', 'non academic activity', and 'rythum to study' contain spelling errors ('rythum') or minor phrasing awkwardness. Furthermore, words are occasionally misspelled, such as 'thier' and 'oppurtunities'. To achieve a higher score, the vocabulary needs to display greater precision, fewer spelling slips, and more natural collocations when attempting more sophisticated terminology.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar and punctuation. Examples such as 'In this era, even young children are busy due to the hectic routines of school and homework' show that the writer can construct meaningful complex sentences. However, there are some errors in grammar and punctuation that persist throughout the text, including article omissions and awkward phrasing like 'let the students to focus' or 'the more their is time for educating children'. These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the writing from achieving a higher level of grammatical control and error-free frequency.

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