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)

In many countries, primary and secondary schools provide students two month or more long summer holidays. In my opinion that can be beneficial for students.

One major advantage is that students can get enough time to relax. In schools they may face many academic pressures. They cannot get enough time for themselves during their day long classes.They may need some time to play and enjoy time with their families.For example longer summer holidays can give them a particular time that they can spend for themselves. As a result they can be more focused in their upcoming classes.

Some people argue that shorter holidays can be beneficial for students. Students may not get enough to study if they get longer holidays. Shorter holidays can allow them to have more time for their academic classes. Regarding teachers, it may also become very difficult to teach students and complete their syllabus in a shorter period.For example student may get less time for their exams. As a result it can have impact on their results.

I think longer holidays can reduce stress of students. However it has some disadvantages too.Despite those problems, Schools can arrange home works for students during holidays. It can help student to complete their syllabus on time. As a result,student can get enough time to study while having a longer summer holidays.

In conclusion longer holiday can reduce the time of study. However, i believe the benefits are greater . Student can reduce their pressure and stress in holidays. Longer holidays can help them to concentrate more on their academic life.

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, while also providing a clear personal viewpoint. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the section on the advantages of long holidays is expanded with points about relaxation and focus, whereas the arguments regarding shorter holidays and teacher workloads are somewhat repetitive and lack deeper extension or specific real-world examples. To reach a higher level, all main arguments need to be thoroughly elaborated with well-supported explanations and specific instances rather than generalised statements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear stance established in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points, such as the benefits of long holidays versus the counterarguments for shorter ones. Nevertheless, cohesion at times feels mechanical or repetitive, relying heavily on basic transitional phrases like 'For example' and 'As a result' to link sentences. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as pronoun use that lacks precise antecedents. To improve, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure smoother progression between ideas without overusing formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the writer's ideas about school holidays. There are attempts to use less common items and topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'academic pressures,' 'syllabus,' and 'concentrate.' However, there are noticeable word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as writing 'two month or more long summer holidays' instead of 'two months or longer,' and 'arrange home works' instead of 'set homework.' Spelling and word-form slips also occur, such as omitting plural markers where necessary. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to demonstrate greater precision in word choice and expand their control of less common lexical phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, demonstrating an ability to combine clauses using conjunctions like 'although' or 'because' conceptually, though punctuation and basic structural controls are uneven. There are several grammatical errors present, including missing articles ('in holidays' instead of 'during the holidays'), issues with subject-verb agreement (such as 'student may get'), and incomplete punctuation control around clauses. Fortunately, these errors rarely impede overall communication. To move to the next level, the writer should incorporate a wider variety of error-free complex structures and refine their control over articles, plurals, and basic agreement rules.

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