Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

In several countries, educational institutes are giving longer summer holidays of two months or more to the primary and secondary students. I think main reason behind this is to allow students to spend more family time in the summer. Although there are some arguments in the favour the shorter summer holidays, I think having a longer one provides children an opportunity to get involved in some other activities than studying.

Longer holidays will allow students to spend their summer time with family members. Furthermore, they can visit some of the historical places in home country or abroad. In addition, summer is called the season of fruites, different types of fruites such as mangoes, lichis, pine-apples, peaches become available during summer; children can enjoy them with their families. For example, during my childhood, our school used to stay close for a month in summer. That used to be the most fun time for me because my family used to plan some vacation abroad or we used to go to our village, there I used to get the chance to explore different cultures or to spend memorable times with my granparents. Therefore, schools should give longer holidays as it refreshes student's mind and gives them the scope to explore something different.

Sometimes longer holidays reduce the productivity of a child by keeping them away from studies. For this reason shorter summer hoildays are more preferred because it gives the students a break of shorter time which will not hamper their productivity. At the same time, schools can arrange some activites in summer time so that while being on schools students can have some fun time with friends. Summer camps can be a good initiative to make students summer time enjoyable. By spending days with friends they will learn to be more cooperative, compassionate and empathetic; thereby it will be benefical for their mental and physical well-being.

In conclusion, students should get more summer hoildays as it is good for their mental and physical health. However, if schools try to arrange some interactive activities during summer, it can also have profound effect on the child's growth.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both questions and maintain a clear preference for longer holidays, while also explaining why shorter breaks may appeal to schools. The family-travel example from your childhood gives the first view relevant personal support, and you identify a plausible benefit of shorter holidays: students may stay engaged with learning. However, the value of long holidays is developed more fully than the case for shorter ones. The fruit examples and family activities illustrate enjoyment, but the educational or developmental value of time away could be explained more directly. Likewise, the shorter-holiday paragraph introduces camps and social skills without fully showing how these support the argument for shorter breaks. More balanced explanation and specific links between examples and each position would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction states your view, separate body paragraphs discuss the two positions, and the conclusion returns to your preference. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “For this reason,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the progression. The personal example also fits naturally within the paragraph about family time. At times, however, cohesion is somewhat mechanical, with several sentences beginning with explicit connectors, and some links between ideas are not fully clear. For instance, the discussion of fruit availability follows the point about family time but its relevance to the value of long holidays is not made explicit. The final sentence shifts to interactive activities without clearly connecting this suggestion to your overall preference. Use more varied referencing and make each example’s relationship to the main point explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for the topic, including phrases such as “historical places,” “productivity,” “cooperative,” and “mental and physical well-being.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and you attempt some less common vocabulary. However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors reduce precision: “fuites” is repeated, “stay close” is used for schools being closed, and “more preferred” is an awkward expression. Other forms, including “hoildays,” “activites,” and “granparents,” also show inconsistent spelling. Some phrases, such as “spend their summer time,” are repetitive or less natural. Aim for accurate topic-specific collocations and proofread spelling; this would make your vocabulary more flexible and precise without changing the ideas.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “because,” “although,” and “so that.” Most meaning remains clear, and the longer personal example is understandable. Some grammatical errors persist, particularly with articles, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “I think main reason” needs an article, while “it gives the students a break” does not agree naturally with the plural subject “shorter summer holidays.” In “thereby it will be benefical,” the reference of “it” is unclear, and the sentence structure is awkward. There are also punctuation issues in the long sentence listing fruit. Review article use, subject–verb agreement, and sentence boundaries, while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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.