Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-16

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)

During summer vacations many schools are closed for more than two months in many countries, while long holidays provide students to relax or pursue their interests, shorter holidays also has several benefits.

Many schools have long holidays that can help students to relax without any academic pressure. When students are in schools they have to take several classes, complete their assignments, and prepare for examination; which, can cause stress and exhaustion. Students need some time to relax their mind and body, which can boost their energy levels. Furthermore, long holidays allows the students to perform several activities, such as playing games with their friends, spending time with their family members, or engaging in sports activities, apart from that they can travel to different places, or learn how to cook food. Performing these activities can result in the development of the student and relaxing the mind.

Conversely, shorter holidays can also be beneficial for the students. Students learn a lot of things when they are in school, but holidays can cause them to forget what they had learnt in the school, for instance, during long holidays students are involved in different activities that are not related to their coursework, which can cause them to lose the track of what they had learned when they return to the school, therefore shorter holidays can be beneficial in retention of the previous lectures. Furthermore, parents usually send their children's to schools so that they can focus on their work, but extended holidays can cause them to take care of the child, which can disturb their working routine, while fewer holidays can help the parents to focus on their work.

In conclusion, extended holidays can be beneficial for students in terms of relaxing and performing activities, while while shorter holidays can help students retain information and allow parents to focus on their work.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question and maintain a clear comparison: long holidays give students time to rest and pursue activities, while shorter breaks may support learning retention and help working parents. These are relevant reasons, and examples such as sports, family time and travel make the first argument concrete. However, the benefits of shorter holidays are less fully explained. For instance, you say students may forget coursework, but do not explain how shorter breaks would improve learning beyond preserving previous lessons. The point about parents’ work routines is also stated rather than illustrated or developed. Extend these ideas with a specific example or explanation of their wider effects to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two positions, and a conclusion that summarises them. The progression within each paragraph is generally understandable, and linking expressions such as “Furthermore” and “Conversely” help signal relationships. This shows the coherent organisation expected at this level and some flexibility in linking ideas. At times, however, connections become mechanical or unclear. The first sentence joins contrasting points with “while” but is difficult to follow, and the long sentence beginning “for instance” contains several ideas linked by commas and “therefore.” The conclusion also repeats “while.” Use clearer sentence boundaries and vary transitions so the relationships between claims are easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, including “academic pressure,” “stress and exhaustion,” “retention,” and “working routine.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and the response includes some topic-specific language rather than relying entirely on basic terms. However, several phrases are imprecise or unnatural, such as “relax their mind and body,” “perform several activities,” and “lose the track.” Repetition of “holidays,” “students,” and “activities” also limits flexibility. Aim for more natural collocations and precise alternatives, such as describing students as “unwind,” “take part in activities,” or “lose track of what they have learned.” This would make the vocabulary more fluent and accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “when,” “which,” and “while,” and your meaning is generally clear. Some sentence patterns are handled successfully, such as “Students need some time to relax…” However, there are several errors in agreement, verb forms and sentence construction. For example, “shorter holidays also has” should use a plural verb, and “long holidays allows” has the same agreement problem. The opening sentence is an awkwardly joined contrast, while “which, can cause” has incorrect punctuation. In “parents usually send their children's to schools,” the possessive form is incorrect. Review subject–verb agreement and punctuation, and divide long sentences when they contain several linked clauses.

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