Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-15

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 young people chose to take a year off between completing school and beginning university , either to gain practical work experience or travel. I strongly agree that taking a gap year can be highly beneficial , provided that it is used productively.

One major advantage of taking a gap year is the opportunity to gain valuable work experience. School leavers often have limited knowledge of working environment , and employment can help them develop essential skills such as communication , team work, time management and problem solving. This skills are not only useful in everyday life but can also improve student's performance at university. For example , a young person who works in customer service role may become more confident when communicating with others and participating in university presentation , allocution competition or hosting any event.

Anther significant benefit is that travelling can broaden young people's perspectives. Experiencing different cultures and meeting people from diverse background can make individua more independent , adaptable and open minded. Furthermore managing finances , accommodation , transportation while traveling can teach responsible decision making.

However a gap year is not automatically beneficial if student spend entire year without doing any activity , they may loose their academic routine. Therefore , it s important for students to plan their year carefully

In conclusion, I strongly believe that taking a year off before university can provide considerable benefits. Work experience and travel ca develop independence , maturity and practical skills, which can ultimately help students become more focused and successful when they return to education.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position in the introduction and maintaining it throughout. The ideas regarding work experience and travel are relevant and well-developed. For instance, the explanation of how work experience fosters soft skills like communication and time management is clear and logically linked to university success. The counter-argument regarding the potential loss of academic routine is also well-integrated. To reach a higher band, the student could provide more specific, concrete examples rather than general statements, which would further strengthen the depth of the argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the transition between the benefits of work, travel, and the counter-argument is smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'One major advantage', 'Anther significant benefit', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, there are minor issues with punctuation and spacing around commas, and some referencing could be more precise. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to the clarity of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. The student uses topic-specific terms like 'practical work experience', 'broaden perspectives', and 'responsible decision making'. There are some minor errors, such as 'allocution competition' (which is not a standard collocation) and 'individua' (a spelling error). While the range is adequate to convey meaning clearly, it lacks the sophistication and precise collocation required for a higher band. Increasing the use of less common lexical items would improve the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement ('This skills are', 'student spend'), missing articles ('in customer service role'), and punctuation issues (spacing before commas). These errors are frequent enough to prevent a higher score but do not impede communication. To improve, the student should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and ensuring consistent use of articles and pluralization.

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

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