Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-02

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 7.0)

Many youngsters who pass out from school these days prefer to take out a year either for travel or to gain work experience before starting university.

I totally agree that this exposure to a non-academic life certainly benefits an individual in quite a few ways when they return to pursue further education.

Firstly, schooling on an average takes from 10-12 years, depending on countries. A youngsters substantial time is devoted to an academic life and this year-out not only breaks the monotony but also widens an individuals perspective. Both work and travel provide an opportunity to experience life, culture and make some friends. This networking can be really helpful as they proceed towards further education Secondly, it helps one to reflect back on the learnings acquired during schooling days and test them in the real world.

Moreover, the individual is still a prospective university student and there is no pressure as such to be in employment for long term. Many companies offer internship opportunities as well to fresh pass-outs from schools. This opportunity allows a person to multi task into different domains which would eventually help them in deciding upon an area of interest. This would come real handy while choosing the specialisation subject in the university. I personally worked with an events organisation during my summer break. I did not drop a year but worked on a short campaign for two months and navigated into different domains like, operations and sales and found out that it was the former that i enjoyed more and it immensely helped me in picking up the right subjects for mu graduation.

The benefits of this break are not only limited to gaining some useful experience but also helps a person financially. The money they earn can help them to partially fund there university studies or can be used for travelling. In addition to that, certain companies their future employees depending on their performance during the internship period and some are even willing to sponsor university education. This not only secures an individuals career to an extent but also takes away the financial burden of higher education.

To conclude, both travels and work set the platform for further learning and also build a network. It expands learning and adds to the acquired knowledge. The real work experience builds an individuals confidence and makes them better prepared better to make informed choices.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have clearly addressed the prompt by taking a strong position in favor of taking a gap year. Your ideas are relevant and well-supported, particularly the personal anecdote about your experience with an events organization, which adds depth to your argument. You explore multiple facets of the topic, including personal development, networking, and financial benefits. To reach a higher band, ensure that all points are fully developed; for instance, the link between 'networking' and 'further education' could be explained with more specific detail on how these connections directly assist in academic success.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

Your essay follows a logical progression, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct benefit of taking a year out. You use transition signals such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', and 'To conclude' to guide the reader. However, some cohesive devices are used slightly mechanically, and there are minor issues with referencing (e.g., 'certain companies their future employees' is missing a verb). Paragraphing is used effectively to separate your main arguments, which helps the overall flow of the essay.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'monotony', 'prospective', and 'specialisation'. There are some instances of imprecise word choice or minor errors, such as 'pass out from school' (a common regionalism, better expressed as 'graduate from school') and 'multi task into different domains'. Additionally, there are some spelling and punctuation errors, such as 'there' instead of 'their' and 'mu' instead of 'my'. These do not impede communication, but they do limit your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('on an average', 'in an events organisation'), subject-verb agreement issues ('certain companies their future employees'), and minor punctuation slips. You attempt complex structures, but they are not always error-free. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, specifically regarding article usage and verb placement, as these errors occur throughout the text.

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