Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-13

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)

Between finishing school and starting university it is undeniable that many young students take a year out to gain work experience or to travel. This experience of non-academic life may offer benefits to an individual when they return to education , In my opinion the taking a year off before continuing higher education might prove to be useful in a lot of ways .

On the one hand , some individuals might argue that finishing education in one go will help save time and will provide faster opportunities. For example, a lot of people suggest to complete university along with school , In many countries parents suggest the child to do university right after school to save years and fast track the way to a stable and settled life. Therefore , this option might be a safer and a more optimal way to go in some situations.

On the other hand, taking a year before education might prove useful for a lot of reasons , the main reason being skill development the non-academic year is a year free of regular academic attendance therefore providing the necessary time for an individual to work on their skills , As a result being helpful for their higher education or work.

Therefore , in my opinion young people could take a year off to develop their skills and prepare.

In conclusion , some people might agree or disagree on the topic of taking a year off education but i personally agree on the consensus

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the benefits of a gap year and acknowledging the counter-argument. However, the development of ideas is quite limited. While you mention 'skill development,' you do not provide specific examples of what these skills might be or how they translate to academic success. The conclusion is also very brief and lacks a summary of the main points, failing to fully support your stated position. To reach a higher band, you need to extend your arguments with concrete examples and ensure your position is clearly maintained throughout the entire essay, rather than just stating it in the introduction and conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which is a positive step. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand.' There are also issues with punctuation, specifically the placement of commas before conjunctions and the lack of proper sentence boundaries, such as the comma splice in the second paragraph: '...along with school , In many countries...'. The progression of ideas is somewhat disjointed, and the transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs could be smoother to improve the overall flow of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally functional but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. You rely on basic phrases like 'useful in a lot of ways' and 'a lot of reasons,' which are repetitive and imprecise. There is little attempt to use less common or academic vocabulary. To improve, you should aim to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and topic-specific terminology related to education and personal development. For instance, instead of 'take a year out,' you could use 'defer university enrollment' or 'pursue a gap year.'

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in punctuation and grammar that occasionally impede readability. For example, there are inconsistent spaces before commas and periods, and several run-on sentences or comma splices. The sentence 'In many countries parents suggest the child to do university' is grammatically awkward; a more natural phrasing would be 'encourage their children to attend university.' While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of minor errors in sentence construction and punctuation prevents the essay from reaching a higher band score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.