Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-23

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 different parts of the world, during summer break the primary and secondary institutes remain closed for two months or more. There are merits to both approaches and this essay will discuss the value of long school holidays and the possible arguments in favour of short duration for vacations.

The notion that schools should have long summer holidays is of great value particularly for the countries having more humid and summer weather than winters. In most of the Asian countries the summer vacations are for approximately two months and this is due to the reason that the summer season is of longer period than winters and it is generally hard for students of both primary and secondary schools to go to schools. Furthermore, having long school holidays can assist students to learn different skills; however this depends on personal interests of the pupils. For example, in Pakistan summer holidays start from late June and ends in early August in addition, during these holidays students are invited to the summer camps organised by the authoroties to learn different skills and to take part in various activities due to the long summer holidays.

Moreover, there are many arguments that support shorter school holidays. One possible argument for having short duration of holidays can be that students often lose interest and it may disturb their academic skills. Many individuals state that schools should have shorter school holidays so that students remain on track and have short duration for other activities.

In conclusion, both points have pros and cons. It is the responsibility of governments to decide the duration of holidays in a particular country. From my prespective, schools holidays should be of a long duration and this is due to the fact that students can learn and develop more skills during this period of time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both questions and gives a clear preference for long holidays in the conclusion. The explanation that hot weather can make attendance difficult, followed by the Pakistan example of summer camps, is relevant and gives the first part some support. However, the value of long holidays is developed more fully than the case for shorter breaks. The shorter-holiday paragraph mainly says that students may lose interest or fall behind, without explaining how shorter breaks would prevent this or offering a concrete example. The claim that holidays allow students to develop skills is also broad and could be illustrated more specifically. To strengthen the response, explain each argument in more depth and make the reasoning behind the final preference more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two sides, and a conclusion. The progression from the benefits of long holidays to arguments for shorter ones is easy to follow, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “Moreover,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. This organisation is effective, though some linking feels formulaic, and the long-holiday paragraph contains several ideas joined together in a crowded sentence, particularly the Pakistan example. The phrase “this” in “this is due to the fact” refers generally to the preceding point rather than a sharply defined reason. For stronger cohesion, separate the example into clearer steps and use more precise references and links between claims and explanations.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for discussing the topic, with relevant expressions such as “academic skills,” “summer camps,” and “personal interests.” The writer also attempts more formal wording, including “arguments in favour” and “duration.” However, some choices are unnatural or imprecise: “more humid and summer weather than winters” does not clearly express the intended climate comparison, and “short duration for vacations” is awkwardly repeated. There are also spelling errors in “authoroties” and “prespective.” These do not prevent understanding, but they limit the accuracy and naturalness of the vocabulary. Aim for more idiomatic collocations and check spelling carefully, while avoiding repeated use of the same terms for holidays and duration.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex structures, including a relative clause in “countries having more humid and summer weather than winters” and a conditional idea in “this depends on personal interests.” Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems are present. For example, “summer holidays start from late June and ends” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “in addition” is not correctly separated from the preceding clause in the Pakistan example. The phrase “schools holidays” also needs a possessive form, and “the summer season is of longer period” has an inaccurate article and structure. Review agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries, and use complex clauses while checking that each clause is complete and correctly punctuated.

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