Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-12

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 5.5)

Young people choose to take a year out between finishing high school and starting university so they will gain more experience in the future. That actually make sense, when they go back to their education. They are more experienced than other people. Because of their work experience and travel to different areas. They don't waste their time. In contrast, They are experiencing life through travel. This essay will agree that if young people choose to take out a year. They are actually correct.

Firstly, young people will decide what do they want to do in the future. They may get a chance to search about their interest. Their course in which they want to enroll. They will search about their courses in which they are interested. So, it will never be a waste of time.

Further more, They will gain work experience in their relative fields. They will work extra. In which way, They will experience to work with new people. They may get time to relax. After lot of hard work in the final exams and stress ofr result. They may get tired and frustrate.

Finally, Young people can earn good amount. They can use for their studies in future. They are investing in their future and will get good reward. They can save money for their study and they will not only depend on their parents. That's pretty good, for their better future.

In conclusion, by taking a gap year young people can choose their courses and select their best university. They can also earn good amount of income. A pretty good amount for their good future and also less stressful future. Such a great investment for them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the point about 'earning a good amount' is mentioned but lacks specific examples or depth regarding how this actually benefits the individual's return to education. The arguments are repetitive, particularly the focus on 'future' and 'money' across multiple paragraphs. To reach a higher band, you should provide more concrete examples or nuanced explanations of how non-academic experiences specifically translate into academic success, rather than just stating that it is a 'good investment'.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'In contrast, They are experiencing life' do not logically connect to the previous sentence. Additionally, there is a heavy reliance on simple sentence structures and repetitive transitions like 'Finally' and 'Further more'. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the flow between sentences is often disjointed, which hinders the overall progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic, repetitive words such as 'good', 'future', 'work', and 'time'. There are also issues with collocation and word choice, such as 'search about their interest' (should be 'explore their interests') and 'stress ofr result' (spelling error). To improve, you should aim to use more academic collocations and precise terminology related to education and professional development.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a high frequency of grammatical errors, including sentence fragments ('That actually make sense'), subject-verb agreement issues ('That actually make sense' should be 'makes'), and incorrect punctuation. Many sentences are simple or repetitive in structure. While the meaning is generally clear, the persistent errors in basic grammar and the lack of complex sentence structures limit the score. You need to focus on mastering basic sentence construction and ensuring that your verb tenses and subject-verb agreements are consistent.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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