Cambridge IELTS 20 Test 2 Writing Task 2: Sample Answer

Long summer breaks are a tradition in many countries, but a growing number of educators question whether two months or more can still be justified. Both sides of the debate deserve careful consideration before any change is made.

The main value of an extended holiday is rest. Pupils spend most of the year in a structured, exam-driven environment, and a long pause allows them to recover from stress and pursue interests that timetables squeeze out, such as sport, travel, reading or volunteering. Teachers also benefit, since they can plan lessons and renew their enthusiasm, which may raise the quality of teaching in the following term. In hot climates, and in farming communities where children help with the harvest, the long break also reflects practical realities.

On the other hand, there are persuasive arguments for shorter holidays. Research on the so-called summer slide suggests that children forget part of what they have learnt, so teachers must spend the first weeks of term on revision. This loss is greater among pupils from poorer homes, who lack access to books, tutors or educational trips, meaning that long breaks widen the attainment gap. Furthermore, working parents often struggle to arrange and pay for childcare over so many weeks.

In my view, a compromise is preferable. Spreading the same total holiday across the year, with several breaks of two or three weeks, would preserve rest while limiting forgetting. Schools that follow such a pattern often report steadier concentration and fewer exhausted pupils by the end of each term.

In short, long holidays offer relaxation and personal development, but shorter ones protect learning and support families, and a more balanced calendar could capture both advantages.