Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-18

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)

Recently many of pupils after school completion opt for work or travel for a certain period and miss one year of education. It is believe that working or traveling before joining university could be a good experience to have from these activities. It might continue positively to study life. I do believe these activities can have positive impact but I disagree with it. One year gap usually lead mind divergence from the study and students usually forgot the knowledge they learned in schools.

Having gap of one year before joining university after school for work or travel do have some merits. As it could teach lessons which could only be learn in practical life. For instance, individuals working know how to handle pressure meet deadlines and be disciplined. Similarly, traveling we teach how to manage time, communicate with different people and learn about new culture. These are the essential capabilities for a university students to be successful in their studies.

One year gap sometimes would be too much for a student. Usually remembering the lessons for that long-term isn't feasible for students. So they will forget what they have learned in schools, which will be used as basics for thier university studies. Hence, it'll be too challenging for students to continue study in similar way. Sometimes earning money may change students mind and they decide not to continue their studies as it's long run investment. Therefore part-time job or travel in holidays between school finishing and university is better option rather having a one year gap.

In conclusion, one year gap for earning and experience or traveling can bulid some useful practical skills. However, this long gap could be fatel for students studies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout, arguing against the gap year. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention that students might forget academic knowledge, this point is repeated in the second and third paragraphs without significant expansion. To reach a higher band, you should provide more nuanced arguments or specific examples of how 'mind divergence' specifically impacts university performance. The conclusion is brief and summarizes the main points, but the overall development remains somewhat superficial, preventing a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices such as 'For instance,' 'Similarly,' and 'In conclusion,' which help the reader follow your argument. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel abrupt. For example, the shift from discussing the benefits of a gap year to the drawbacks in the third paragraph could be smoother. Additionally, referencing is sometimes slightly unclear, which occasionally affects the logical progression of your ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some relevant topic-specific terms like 'practical life,' 'disciplined,' and 'long-term investment.' However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and minor errors, such as 'fatel' (fatal) and 'bulid' (build). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, relying on common phrases. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and academic synonyms to demonstrate a wider range of lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('One year gap usually lead,' 'students usually forgot'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing ('It is believe that'). These errors are noticeable but do not consistently impede communication. To achieve a higher band, you need to focus on improving your control over verb tenses and ensuring consistent subject-verb agreement in more complex sentence constructions.

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

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