Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Summer holidays are an important part of student life. Long school holidays are very important for students in terms of mental relaxation and they have a lot of positive aspects. Meanwhile, some people believe that shorter summer breaks lead to skill development and productivity. From my perspective, long school holidays are more beneficial than the shorter ones.

Summer holidays seem like a blessing to students as they allow them to spend some time with their loved ones without any worries of pending work or coming deadlines. Kids often participate in activities like swimming, hunting or fishing etc. They enjoy this time without the pressure of having a homework. This reduces axiety and refreshes their mind for upcoming academic sessions. When students return from summer holidays, they participate actively in class activities and perform efficiently in the exams.

On the other hand, some people believe that summer holidays should be shorter and they should be utilised for teaching some practical skills to students. This will be very helpful in their professional life. Skills like graphic designing are trending nowadays and if they are taugt in summer camps, the students will have a stable income stream even before they complete their matriculation. As a result, their time will be well spent in learning something productive rather than just playing games and hanging out with friends.

In conclusion, longer summer breaks help students to relieve stress, anxiety and depression caused by academic workload; however, shorter summer breaks can lead to develop some important skills.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the value of long school holidays and the arguments in favour of shorter ones, while stating a clear position. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the discussion on mental relaxation and reduced anxiety in the second paragraph is elaborated reasonably well with examples like swimming and fishing. Conversely, the points regarding shorter holidays and skill development are somewhat generalised, such as the mention of graphic design and stable income streams, touching upon the upper band requirements while keeping parts of the argument slightly under-developed. The overall response presents relevant ideas that directly answer both questions effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The text demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression throughout. Ideas are divided into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing each side of the prompt, and a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices are used adequately to connect sentences and arguments, as seen with phrases like 'On the other hand' and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally a bit mechanical, and some transitions between sentences could be smoother to reach higher levels of flow and paragraphing integration. Nevertheless, the progression of thoughts is easy to follow from start to finish.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

An adequate range of vocabulary is utilised for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use less common items such as 'productivity', 'professional life', and 'stable income stream'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and spelling errors, such as 'axieted' or 'axiety' and the typo 'taugt' instead of taught, alongside slightly repetitive phrasing like 'summer holidays' and 'shorter breaks'. These lexical and spelling errors do not impede communication, successfully meeting the requirements for this level while showing glimpses of a broader functional lexicon.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over various structures such as conditional-like clauses ('if they are taught in summer camps') and relative clauses. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('having a homework') and spacing issues, but they rarely impede communication. The majority of the sentences are formed clearly, and the grammar shows good foundational control with some successful complex structures, reflecting the upper boundary of this performance band.

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

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