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)

Many countries allow primary and secondary schools to be closed for more than two months during summer vacations. These long holidays give students some time to relax and involve in physical activities of their choice. But there are certain people who are not in favour of these holidays because they believe that long closure of scools will make children lazy and they will forget all of their previous study.

First of all, these holidays provides students some time to relax and enjoy their life rather than falling under the burden of academics. For the whole year they have been studying different books, attending classes and preparing for exams. Now it is their right to be given some time off the textbooks so that they can enjoy their life. Moreover, many students donot get the time to participate in extracurricular activities during their classes. For instance, during my school days i was very good at playing cricket but i donot get enough time to practice it regularly. So this is the ideal time for them to explore activities in which they are good at and practice them. This makes them happy and also keep them physically fit.

However, some people believe that these vacations should be shorter. Perhaps, their opinion is that long holidays can make children lazy. As there is no home work or assignment for children, they will eventually be using mobile phone all day long and start to procastinate day to day tasks. In addition, they think that when students return to school they will forget all of their previous education so teachers have to first revise them and then proceed further.

In conclusion, long school holidays are beneficial as they provide useful time to students to relax and perform physical activities. But there are people who think that these long vacations will make children lazy and forgetful.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both questions: it explains that long holidays allow students to rest and pursue physical or extracurricular interests, and presents the opposing view that extended breaks may encourage inactivity and weaken learning. The personal cricket example helps make the first benefit relevant. However, the arguments are not equally developed. The value of holidays is supported with several reasons, while the case for shorter holidays is mainly asserted; explain more clearly how a shorter break could maintain learning or support families and school routines. The conclusion restates the main points but does not add a clear, developed position on how the benefits and concerns should be balanced. More explanation and specific support for the second side would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on the benefits, a paragraph presenting concerns, and a conclusion. The progression is easy to follow, and signposts such as “First of all,” “Moreover,” and “However” help distinguish the main points. This meets the lower-band expectation for coherent organisation and shows some features of stronger progression. To make the links more flexible and less formulaic, connect each example directly to the claim it supports and use clearer referencing where needed. For instance, “their opinion” could identify whose view is being discussed, and the shift from students’ free time to mobile-phone use could be explained more explicitly. The conclusion also repeats earlier points rather than drawing the discussion together.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for discussing school holidays, with relevant terms such as “academics,” “extracurricular activities,” “physically fit,” and “revise.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and the writer attempts some topic-specific language. However, several word-choice and spelling problems reduce precision, including “involve in physical activities,” “falling under the burden,” “donot,” “scools,” and “procastinate.” Some expressions are also repetitive, particularly “long holidays” and “students.” Aim for more natural collocations and accurate spelling, and vary repeated terms where appropriate. For example, “take part in physical activities” is more idiomatic than “involve in physical activities.” These improvements would make the vocabulary more controlled and precise without changing the essay’s accessible style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses such as “because they believe that…” and “so that they can enjoy their life.” Most meaning remains clear, and the longer sentences generally communicate the intended relationships between ideas. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly subject–verb agreement and verb forms: “these holidays provides” should be “these holidays provide,” and “This makes them happy and also keep them physically fit” should use “keeps.” There are also problems with articles and sentence construction, as in “during my school days i was very good at playing cricket but i donot get enough time.” Review tense consistency and punctuation in such sentences. Greater accuracy across these structures would improve control while retaining the current range.

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