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?

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Sample Response

1

In recent times, summer holidays have become essential in young people's educationyoungsters' educational process. In various countries, primary and secondary schools close for a few months during the summer. Understanding the effects of both long-term and short-term holidays is vital for creating proper educational curricula in schools.

2

A significant number of schools provide their students with prolonged educational schedules, from the early morning till the late afternoon. Youngsters at such a young age are not developed enough to face severe academic pressure; as a result, such; as a result such tight schedules seriously impact their mental health and in some cases diminish long term motivation. Long school holidays offer youngsters an opportunity to take their mindsmind off educational challenges, to relax and pursuefollow their personal interests. After an exhausting school year, young people find academic tasks more challenging and need significantly more time to regain the mental stability essential for achievement. For example, children with dyslexia face more challenges during the school year; as a result, they; as a result they need more time to recover both physically and mentally in order to be able to catch up with other students.

3

On the other hand, shorter school holidays have their own advantages. They encourage children to relax without losing motivation, as prolonged holidays might lead to severe boredom and loss of the need for educational advancement. Youngsters who spend less timespend a smaller amount of time on relaxation and dedicate more time to the academic process are better prepared for educational pressure and able to face challenges without the feeling of exhaustionoverexhaustion and demotivation.

4

To sum up, both long-term and short-term holidays offer a significant number of advantages. While long holidays provide mental stability forin youngsters, short-term holidays broaden students' educational horizons.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The essay addresses both prompt questions effectively by outlining the benefits of long summer breaks and the arguments for shorter holidays. Ideas are logically organized into coherent paragraphs with sophisticated vocabulary and a strong range of grammatical structures. To improve, the candidate should elaborate on the specific benefits of shorter holidays beyond general academic preparedness.

Band score breakdown

IELTS Writing Criteria Scores

TR

Task Response

7.0
Scoring rule

Both parts of the prompt are addressed with clear supporting arguments and relevant examples.

Next step

Provide more concrete evidence or specific details when explaining the advantages of shorter school holidays.

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0
Scoring rule

Paragraphing is logical and ideas progress clearly throughout the essay with effective linking words.

Next step

Use a wider variety of cohesive devices to connect sentences within paragraphs more naturally.

LR

Lexical Resource

7.0
Scoring rule

A good range of topic-specific vocabulary is used accurately and flexibly to express ideas.

Next step

Focus on precise prepositional usage in idiomatic phrases to refine lexical control further.

GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0
Scoring rule

A variety of complex sentence structures is used with generally good grammatical control.

Next step

Punctuate compound and complex sentences carefully to prevent minor run-on structures.