Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-01

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Write about the following topic:

Many young people choose to take a year out between finishing school and starting university in order to gain work experience or to travel. The experience of non-academic life this offers benefits the individual when they return to education.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Many youngsters choose to take a gap year before joining university to build up some experience or to travel around the world. University education is pivotal for a career or for new opportunities. This essay will elucidate the advantageous points of a gap year.

As we are aware, school life is full of responsibilities and stress that can cause students to feel loathing towards studies. They don't enjoy studying; instead, they feel it burden and a stressful activity. They want to spend quality time with their friends and want to travel, but school does not provide that much leisure time.

Consequently, they want to have a gap year so they can enjoy their life and to lead a happy life. They want to be free of fierce competition and a stressful life. The sense of never being able to relax causes them to be melancholic, and they feel blue.

However, free time can be very beneficial for students to select their field and to give themselves a chance to work on their personality. They feel delighted to return to their college life as they longed for it. They learn the importance of education and its scope. University life is much better than the strict life of school; so, they feel happy rather than feel it as a burden.

In my opinion, it is beneficial to have a gap year to groom yourself, and you can even improve your way of thinking. Furthermore, you can learn some useful skills for future use.

To conclude, a gap year can be advantageous for future academic life or to learn some more courses.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The essay addresses the prompt by discussing the benefits of a gap year. However, the development is somewhat limited. While you mention that students can 'work on their personality' and 'learn some useful skills,' these points are not sufficiently extended with concrete examples or detailed explanations. The response tends to repeat the idea of 'stress' and 'happiness' rather than exploring the broader implications of gaining work experience or travel, as suggested in the prompt. To reach a higher band, ensure that each main idea is supported by a specific example or a logical consequence that directly links back to the benefits for future education.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'consequently,' 'however,' and 'furthermore' to link sentences. However, the flow between some sentences is slightly mechanical, and the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure of the arguments is somewhat repetitive, which slightly affects the logical flow. Using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensuring each paragraph has a distinct focus would improve the coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'pivotal,' 'elucidate,' and 'melancholic.' However, there are some instances of slightly unnatural word choices or collocations, such as 'feel it burden' instead of 'feel it is a burden' or 'groom yourself' in a general context. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. To improve, focus on learning collocations—words that naturally go together—and try to incorporate more academic vocabulary related to education and personal development.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'they feel it burden and a stressful activity' and 'rather than feel it as a burden.' Additionally, there are minor issues with article usage and verb agreement. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of infinitives and gerunds. Proofreading your work for small slips in sentence construction will help you achieve greater accuracy.

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