Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-04

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)

Summer vacations in most primary and secondary schools across the world are for two to three months. Although these long holidays would have certain merits in terms of enjoyment and learning. I believe shorter holidays would be more advantageous.

On the one hand, longer summer break is good and necessary for school going children because they can take a break from their routine life. In addition, they can get a chance to spend quality time with their family. Moreover, they can also learn and improve their educational deficiencies. Summer break of three months gives benefits to the educational institutes as well . They can initiate various teacher training programms which can be productive for them in longer run. In addition, longer breaks have a main role for the institutes in maintaining their electricity charges.They can also get a chance to renovate their buildings.

On the other hand, shorter school holidays are also beneficial for the students because students at primary and secondary levels want to spend more time in playing games and other activities other than studies. Therefore, shorter duration of break could have a good impact in maintaing their learning schedule. Moreover shorter break could help teachers to maintain their daily routines and discipline as well. Due to short break in studies, the continuity of learning never break and it consequently improve the learning aptitude of the children. For example, the child who studies regularly and take a short break in studies, comes back to the school with more energy as compared to the student who takes long break .

To conclude longer summer break is good for recreational activities but has some drawbacks related to educational abilities of the children while short summer break could be helpful in maintaining such abilities. In my point of view both have some merits and demerits but shorter summer break is more helpful.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones, maintaining a clear overall position. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the points about educational institutes initiating teacher training programmes or managing electricity charges are somewhat generalised and under-developed compared to the clearer points on student learning continuity. To reach a higher level, all main ideas would need to be extended with more detailed explanations and more robust supporting examples rather than relying on brief generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion, and the writing is divided into logical paragraphs covering each side of the argument. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For example, the sentence fragments used as punctuation in places ('programms which can be productive for them in longer run. In addition...') disrupt the smooth progression of ideas. Furthermore, referencing and transitional phrases can be repetitive ('In addition', 'Moreover'). To achieve a higher standard, the use of cohesive devices needs to be more flexible and natural, avoiding repetitive linking words and ensuring seamless paragraph transitions throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting some less common items such as 'recreational activities' and 'educational deficiencies'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('programms', 'maintaing') and instances of awkward word choice and collocation, such as 'routine life' instead of 'daily routine' or 'routine' and 'educational institutes' instead of 'educational institutions'. These lexical inaccuracies do not impede communication, but they restrict the score. To progress further, the writer should focus on expanding their use of precise collocations and ensure greater accuracy in spelling and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over sentence structures. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text, including article omissions ('take long break', 'child who studies regularly'), singular and plural agreement issues ('programms', 'the continuity of learning never break'), and punctuation errors, notably a major punctuation slip with a full stop placed before a comma in the introduction ('learning. I believe'). Although these errors persist, they rarely impede communication. To move up, the writer needs to produce more frequent error-free sentences and demonstrate tighter control over articles, subject-verb agreement, and complex clause structures.

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