Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-22

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 the modern era, summer holidays play a cricial role in students lives. With this, primary and secondary schools in numerous countries remain closed for over two months period in summer breaks. With due consideration, both the views would be discussed before the reasoned conclusion is drawn.

One of the highlights is that, extended breaks are beneficial because these breaks allows individuals to develop non academic skills which means students can get ample number of period to strengthen one's skills. Furthermore, parents and students can get the opportunity to travel and can enhance life skills such as cooking and swimming. For instance, my mother often takes advantage of such holidays to teach my brother essential life skills activites which helps him in his future life. Thus, such breaks can provide a proper rest to the students after the long academic routines and allows them participate in the activities like summer camp too.

On the contrary, some oponents of shorter breaks argue that such longer holidays detch students from their academic learning, which means more chances to forget academic learning. Additionally, working parents are more disturbed due to such prolonged breaks as they need to do childcare. For example, my sister usually takes time off work during her daughter's holidays to look after her and spend quality time with her. Therefore, such shorter breaks can be beneficial but can hinder the routine of the parents and mainly of the students because it discontinue acdemic learning.

In conclusion, longer holidays offer rest and allow students develop non academic skills. However, shorter breaks detach students from academic learning and hinders parents routine which is a concerning issue. Therefore, schools should adopt a balanced approach where they can provide structured and satisfied time table and holiday charts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both questions: it explains the value of longer holidays through rest, travel and life skills, then presents arguments for shorter breaks, including continuity in learning and childcare pressures on working parents. The examples about your mother teaching practical skills and your sister taking time off make the discussion relevant. However, the two sides are not developed equally clearly. The benefits of longer holidays are supported with several points, while the case for shorter holidays is less fully explained; the paragraph also shifts to the disadvantages of long breaks without clearly setting out how shorter holidays would address them. The conclusion offers a balanced approach, but “structured and satisfied time table” is not explained. Develop the comparison and clarify the final recommendation to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two perspectives, and a conclusion. Sequencing is generally easy to follow, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “On the contrary,” and “In conclusion” help identify the stages of the argument. At times, however, these links feel mechanical, and some references are unclear. For example, “such shorter breaks” follows a discussion of the problems caused by longer holidays, so the relationship between the point and the proposed solution is confusing. The final sentence introduces a timetable and holiday charts without connecting them clearly to the preceding reasoning. Use more precise referencing and make each paragraph’s central claim explicit, then link examples directly to that claim.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “non academic skills,” “prolonged breaks,” “childcare,” and “academic learning,” and the reader can understand the main ideas. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “With due consideration” and “reasoned conclusion.” However, several spelling errors and awkward or inaccurate word choices reduce precision: “cricial,” “oponents,” and “detch” appear in key parts of the discussion, while “ample number of period” and “satisfied time table” are unnatural combinations. Some expressions are also repetitive, particularly “such holidays” and “academic learning.” Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations, choosing direct, natural wording over formal-sounding phrases that do not fit the meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response includes both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “because,” “which means,” and “where.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the overall argument remains understandable. Some grammatical errors persist, particularly with subject–verb agreement and verb forms: “these breaks allows” should be “these breaks allow,” and “it discontinue” should be “it discontinues” or be recast. There are also problems with articles, plurals and possessives, as in “over two months period” and “students lives.” The final sentence has a mismatch in “shorter breaks … hinders,” where the plural subject requires “hinder.” Review agreement and noun phrases, and proofread each sentence for a complete, correctly formed structure.

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