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)

There is an argument regarding school holidays that whether the student's vacation should be shorter or longer. Both arguments have its dowside and upside. This essay will cover both arguments and present the value of school holidays.

There are many benifits for longer holidays, and the most popular is the vacation. Students often get stressed out for their tight deadline or schedule, hence, they wait for a summer holidays to relax and visit abroad with their friends or family to clear their mind. This gives them an opportunity to explore, interact with foreign people and experience other cultural values which will eventually benefit them in long term. Other than this, many students take part in summer camps which includes gymnastics, swimming and other activities.

In contrast of upsides, there are certain downsides. Students often forget their previous courses or classes when there are longer school holidays. Furthermore, students often gets lazy, hence finds difficulties coming back to school from long holidays.

Some parents prefer shorter holidays for their children because of financial reasons and have difficulty in enrolling children in summer camp activities. Moreover, students can maintain their rythem in terms of studies and keeps their mind focused instead of staying at home, doing nothing which eventually gets them lazy. Students should take part in extra-curricular activies in school, in order to prevent such laziness.

To conclude, If we ask students about their preference for holidays, most of them will prefer longer holidays, but, in my opinion, there should be a balance of both. Consequently, a student's mind stays fresh and remember the things that were taught previously.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions: the benefits of longer holidays include rest, travel, cultural experiences and summer camps, while the case for shorter breaks includes maintaining study habits and reducing parents’ financial pressure. Your concluding view—that a balance is preferable—also gives the response a clear position. However, some points are asserted rather than explained. For example, the claim that students “often forget their previous courses” would be stronger with an explanation of how shorter breaks help learning or a relevant example. The financial argument is also unclear: explain more directly how shorter holidays reduce the difficulty or cost of arranging childcare and activities. Developing these ideas more evenly would make the response more complete and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure, moving from the benefits of long holidays to disadvantages and then arguments for shorter breaks before reaching a conclusion. Paragraphing helps the reader follow this progression, and signposts such as “In contrast” and “To conclude” make the main stages clear. This shows effective organisation, though some connections are mechanical or imprecise: “In contrast of upsides” does not introduce the paragraph naturally, and “Furthermore” links two points without clarifying their relationship. The opening promises to “cover both arguments,” but the discussion shifts between disadvantages of long holidays and reasons for shorter ones without clearly distinguishing them. Use more precise transitions and make each paragraph’s focus explicit to strengthen the progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “cultural values,” “summer camps,” “financial reasons” and “extra-curricular activities,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “clear their mind,” but some choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward. Examples include “tight deadline or schedule,” “a summer holidays,” “In contrast of upsides,” and “gets them lazy.” Spelling errors such as “benifits,” “rythem” and “activies” also reduce accuracy. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall argument, but they limit precision and naturalness. Check spelling carefully and learn common word partnerships, such as “relieve stress,” “maintain a routine” and “become less motivated.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “when” and “which,” and most of the message remains clear. However, some grammatical errors recur. The opening construction “an argument regarding school holidays that whether” is not correctly formed; use “There is debate about whether…”. Agreement is inconsistent in “students often gets” and “which includes,” and the final sentence has a faulty verb pattern in “a student’s mind stays fresh and remember.” There are also article, number and punctuation problems, as in “a summer holidays” and the capitalised “If” after the comma in the conclusion. Review subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries, then proofread complex sentences to ensure each clause has a clear, correctly matched subject and verb.

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