Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-07

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, schools give long holidays during the summer time. Long-holidays are valuable for children's development and well-being. There are strong arguments in favour of the shorter holidays to avoid academic and social drawbacks.

On the one hand, long holidays provide benefits to the students. They can take part in various activities other than academics such as sports, traveling or any creative hobbies which will improve their well-being and they get exposure of the new things. Additionally, after long academic year child will get a break from the study. It helps students to recharge and they returns with motivation which keeps them engage in study. Furthermore, child can spend quality time with family which strengthen the bond of parent and child.

On the other hand, many individuals argue that shorter holidays are more beneficial. After a long summer break when students come back to the school, there are high chances that they had forgotten academic lessons. Therefore, tutor needs to revise everything which waste the time and the energy instead of progressing towards the new lesson. Moreover, there are many parents who works full-time. It will cause childcare problems for working parents who struggles to supervise their child for two months. School should provide shorter break throughout year without compromising on academics.

In conclusion, long summer holidays are significant for the family bonding and development of the child while shorter holidays can reduce the learning loss. I personally believe that there should be a balanced approach, holidays should not be longer or shorter but sufficient for the students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and maintain a clear overall view: long breaks support children’s well-being and family relationships, while shorter breaks may reduce learning loss and ease childcare pressures. These are relevant points, and the conclusion brings them together in a balanced position. However, some ideas are more fully explained than others. The activities children can pursue are listed, but their developmental value is only briefly stated; similarly, the childcare point would be stronger with a specific explanation or example of its impact on working families. The claim that schools should provide shorter breaks throughout the year is also introduced without explaining how this arrangement would work. Develop these points with a concrete example and clearer reasoning.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs presenting each side, and a conclusion that summarises the discussion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the progression easy to follow, and ideas within each paragraph generally move in a sensible order. This meets the lower-band expectations and shows some features of stronger organisation. However, connections between individual points can feel mechanical, particularly through repeated “Additionally,” “Furthermore,” and “Moreover.” Some references are also unclear, such as “It will cause childcare problems,” where the link to the preceding sentence could be more precise. Use a wider range of natural transitions and make cause-and-effect links explicit to strengthen the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary to discuss education and family life, including “well-being,” “recharge,” “academic lessons,” and “learning loss.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and attempts at more specific language are evident. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, however: “get exposure of the new things,” “returns with motivation,” and “keeps them engage in study” do not sound idiomatic. “Long-holidays” is also incorrectly formed, and “various activities other than academics” could be expressed more precisely. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit the naturalness and precision of the writing. Build accuracy by learning common word partnerships, such as “gain exposure to new experiences” and “stay engaged in their studies.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional and subordinate structures such as “After a long summer break when students come back to the school…” and “which will improve their well-being.” Most ideas remain understandable, and errors rarely obstruct the message. Some grammatical errors persist, particularly with subject–verb agreement, articles, and verb forms: “child will get a break,” “they returns,” “which strengthen the bond,” and “parents who works.” The sentence “It helps students to recharge and they returns…” also joins clauses awkwardly. Review agreement and singular/plural forms, and check each sentence for a clear subject and correctly formed verb. Greater accuracy across these structures would make the response more controlled.

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