Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-21

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)

Nowadays, in many different countries primary and secondary schools shut down for two or three months or more in the summer holidays. This essay will discuss the possible value of having a long school holidays, and what are the logical reasons which are in favour of shorter school holidays.

Long school holidays may probably have some positive effects on the students. It is a chance for them to have a relief for some while before they come back again to school, as a recharge for students enthusiasm. Another possible explanation is that students will have the opportunity to discover the real live and how people make their own ends meet, for example, they can enroll in a summer job, which is a good way to learn how to be independent. As a result, a long scool holidays may have their value in some ways, especially if students make the use of it.

On the other hand, some people believe that shorter school holidays are better than longer ones. This would probably be mainly because that longer holidays may affect students in a detrimental way. For instance, students may lose their ambitions after a long holiday, which would never happen in a shorter holiday. Furthermore, a shorter holiday will ensure thet students are in the mood of stydying rather than any thing else. For instance, if schools do not let students to have enough time to create another interest beside education, this will ensure that students will complete their studeis. So, having a longer holidays may have a value, but a shorter holidays are better in some people's perspective.

In conclusion, schools usually close for two months or more durng the summer. A longer holiday would make students discover other aspects of the real life. However, some people believe that a shorter holidays may benifit students more.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions and maintain a relevant comparison: the first body paragraph presents rest, renewed enthusiasm and work experience as benefits of long holidays, while the second argues that shorter breaks may help students retain motivation and focus. However, these points are often asserted rather than explained. For example, the claim that students “may lose their ambitions” during a long holiday is unclear, and the later point about not having time to develop interests does not clearly show why shorter holidays are beneficial. The conclusion repeats the contrast but does not sharpen your overall view. Develop each main idea with a clearer explanation or a specific example, and make your position on the relative value of the two holiday patterns more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two sides, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the other hand,” “Furthermore,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the broad progression, and the ideas generally remain grouped by topic. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some of the flexibility associated with stronger cohesion. However, links within the second body paragraph are sometimes difficult to follow: the sentence beginning “For instance, if schools do not let students…” does not clearly support the preceding claim about maintaining a study mood. Some linking phrases also feel formulaic, and “This” in “This would probably be mainly because” has a vague reference. Make each sentence’s relationship to the main point explicit and use transitions more selectively.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “summer holidays,” “independent,” “detrimental,” and “discover.” There are also attempts to use less common expressions, such as “make their own ends meet,” although this phrase is not natural in the context of students learning about working life. Several word-choice and spelling problems reduce precision: “a recharge for students enthusiasm,” “real live,” “scool,” “stydying,” and “benifit” make the writing less polished, while “another interest beside education” is awkward. The range is therefore limited and errors are noticeable, even though the overall meaning is usually recoverable. Build a more accurate set of collocations for education and holidays, and proofread spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “a summer job, which is a good way to learn how to be independent” and a conditional sentence beginning “if schools do not let students…”. These attempts show some range, but control is inconsistent. Examples include “a long school holidays,” “students enthusiasm,” “because that longer holidays,” and “a shorter holidays,” where articles, agreement or plural forms are not handled accurately. The opening also uses the awkward construction “This essay will discuss … and what are the logical reasons,” and the conditional sentence is difficult to follow because its clauses do not connect clearly. Improve accuracy in noun phrases and sentence construction, then check that complex clauses express a complete, logical relationship.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.