Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-17

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)

Graduating from a high school is actually a huge achievement for teenagers. However, gaining admission into a higher institution is a bigger flex. With respect to your question, I feel the majority of students who opt for work immediately after high school is higher than those who pursue a degree once they are done with secondary school.

The reason is because, a huge amount of money is required to get enrolled and student who come from a poor family might not be able to meet up. In other words, they would surely struggle to pay their tuition fees should they get enrolled immediately. When this happens, their academic performance would be at its lowest. Hence, the reason most of them prefer to work for at least one year before they return to school.

Secondly, when students choose to work for a certain period of time before returning to school, they tend to do better in class than their mates who did not. This is because they reason beyond the academic scope, they bring in real-world experiences into the academic setting as well as provide practical solutions to classroom problems.

In relation to this, I remember when I graduated from Secondary school in 2017. My parents had no penny to see me through the university. Fortunately, my uncle employed me in one of his companies where I was trained and worked as a virtual assistant. Having gathered enough experiences and money, I decided to further my education. Luckily, I was admitted as a full-time student. I began to make friends with students who got admission same year they left high school and to my greatest surprise they were unable to offer practical solutions to real life problems.

In conclusion, I can proudly say that the experience of non-academic life provides valuable benefits to students when they eventually go back to school. Also, it is important that parents, even if there are abundant resources, allow their children to develop and prepare themselves first before rushing into the university.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. You successfully argue that taking a gap year is beneficial, supporting this with both economic reasoning and personal experience. However, the development is slightly uneven; the first paragraph focuses heavily on financial necessity, which is a valid reason for taking a break but slightly shifts the focus away from the 'non-academic life' benefits mentioned in the prompt. To reach a higher band, ensure that the link between the work experience and the subsequent academic improvement is more explicitly detailed in every paragraph, rather than focusing primarily on the financial barrier to entry.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. You use cohesive devices such as 'In other words,' 'Hence,' and 'In relation to this' to connect your thoughts. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive. To improve, try to vary your linking phrases and ensure that the relationship between sentences is always smooth. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall structure supports the development of your argument effectively.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'higher institution,' 'academic scope,' and 'virtual assistant.' There are some informal choices, such as 'bigger flex' and 'no penny,' which are not suitable for an academic essay. While your meaning is always clear, the vocabulary lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. To improve, focus on using more formal academic collocations and avoid colloquialisms. Expanding your range to include more topic-specific vocabulary related to education and professional development would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is generally effective. However, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'Graduating from a high school' (should be 'from high school'), 'student who come' (should be 'students who come'), and 'same year they left' (should be 'the same year'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and article usage. Proofreading for these minor slips will significantly enhance the accuracy of your writing.

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

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