Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-04

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 recent years, there are longer holidays during summer for primary and high school students.The importance of these holidays are to make children free from their academic stress and spend time with their family and friends. But shorter school vacations enable children to focus more on studies and improve their academic performance.

One of the factors which are crucial for the longer summer vacations in schools is it helps children reduce stress and enhance their mental health. This is because during their school days childrens are more concentrated and have to remember more complicated things for their examinations. However, giving a break from this learning system, provide some refreshments so that they can freshly resume their studies. Moreover, children can spend some quality time with the parents at home and involve themselves in various activities with friends. For example, parents often do not find time to spend with their childrens because of busy lifestyles and tight work schedules, so during these summer breaks, they can take them to some places,which makes them happy and have fun with them. Therefore, this helps in developing a bond with parents and friends.

In contrast, some people priortise shorter summer holidays because it encourages childrens to focus on their educational skills and academics without distracted by other things. In other words, children often tend to forget the lessons, which are taught prior to holidays, as they will be busy in other activities, so it is crucial to keep these holidays short to maintain their interest towards the academics. For instance, many students do not remember to do summer holiday homeworks given by their teachers as they will be busy playing with their friends, which may affect their understanding in future classes. Therefore, childrens perform better in their exams if there are fewer holidays during summer.

In conclusion, it is crucial for students to have longer number of summer holidays, as it allows them to gain mental peace and spend quality time with family and friends. However, shorter holidays make childrens focus on education and improve their results.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both questions: it explains the value of longer holidays through reduced stress and family time, then presents the case for shorter breaks by linking them to retaining lessons and academic focus. The position in the conclusion—that longer holidays are valuable, while shorter ones may support results—is clear. Examples, such as parents taking children on outings and students forgetting holiday homework, are relevant. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained: the effect of shorter holidays on academic performance could be developed with a clearer account of how continuity supports learning, and the benefits of rest could be distinguished from simply having more free time. More balanced explanation and specific development of these ideas would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two sides, and a conclusion. The contrast between the arguments is easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “In contrast,” and “Therefore” help signal relationships. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical because several sentences rely on formulaic transitions, and some references are unclear or awkward—for example, “this learning system” and “which may affect their understanding in future classes.” The first body paragraph also moves from stress to family activities without a particularly smooth connection. Use a wider range of linking methods, and make pronoun references explicit so readers can follow each point without having to infer what “this” or “which” refers to.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is an adequate range of vocabulary for discussing education and holidays, including “academic stress,” “mental health,” “educational skills,” and “academic performance.” The writer also attempts more specific expressions such as “tight work schedules” and “maintain their interest.” Meaning remains clear, but some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “longer number of summer holidays,” “focus more on studies,” and “spend time with the parents.” Spelling and word-form errors such as “priortise,” “childrens,” and “homeworks” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural collocations and check spelling and countable/uncountable forms; this would make the vocabulary more precise while preserving the relevant range already shown.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentences, including subordinate clauses with “because,” “as,” and “so that,” and most ideas remain understandable. Some grammatical errors occur across the essay, particularly with subject–verb agreement, plurals, and sentence construction. For example, “The importance of these holidays are” should use a singular verb, while “giving a break … provide” has a mismatch between the subject and verb. In “children often tend to forget the lessons … as they will be busy,” the tense relationship is not well controlled. There are also punctuation issues, such as missing spaces after commas and the run-on construction in “In other words … holidays, as they will be busy.” Review agreement and clause boundaries, and edit each sentence for accurate verb forms.

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