Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-23

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)

In the recent years, taking drop from academics has become predominant. Most individuals believe that taking one year break after completing your higher secondary school will develop there several skills and provide them work experience. They also think it can benefit them in various aspects before entering into university life . However, I strongly believe with the latter viewpoint , taking break could be advantageous. This essay will discuss both perspective before coming to the final decision.

On the one hand , students taking break from academics for year can significantly enhance their extra curriculum skills. For instance, applying for internships according to their interest can provide a better work experience in co-operate world. Another key point to be consider is travelling, exploring new places can significantly improve there communication skills , learn cultural and traditions of the place and different perspectives. Subsequently, i can led to positive impact on their further life.

Additionally, non-academic life also brings some daunting experiences such as family and society pressure, delayed graduation a year, also if year is unplanned than it can be waste of your time . For example If students don't have a clear purpose, they may spend the year on entertainment or other activities without gaining useful skills or experience. Nevertheless, I believe taking the break is benefit which definitely overweigh potential drawbacks, only if utilized properly.

In conclusion, even if sometimes times its challenging it can still be wroth experiencing year . Therefore I completely agree with the view that students should prefer taking a break before going for undergraduate studies.

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, while you mention internships and travel, the explanation of how these specifically benefit a student's return to education is limited. The essay structure is slightly contradictory; you state you will discuss 'both perspectives' in the introduction, but the body paragraphs focus almost exclusively on the benefits of a gap year, with only a brief mention of drawbacks in the third paragraph. To improve, ensure that your arguments are more thoroughly extended and that the structure aligns with your introductory roadmap.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'On the one hand', 'Additionally', and 'In conclusion', to guide the reader. However, some transitions are mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is slightly disjointed. For example, the transition between discussing travel and the impact on future life is abrupt. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'I can led to positive impact', where the pronoun 'I' seems to be a typo for 'it'. Improving the variety and precision of your linking words will enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward word choices or incorrect collocations, such as 'taking drop from academics' instead of 'taking a gap year', and 'co-operate world' instead of 'corporate world'. You also use 'extra curriculum' instead of the correct term 'extracurricular'. While the meaning is clear, the lack of sophisticated vocabulary and the presence of these errors limit the score. Focus on learning common collocations and using more precise academic terminology.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('there several skills' instead of 'their'), missing articles ('taking break' instead of 'taking a break'), and spelling errors ('wroth' instead of 'worth'). There are also punctuation issues, such as unnecessary spaces before commas. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. You should focus on proofreading for basic errors like articles, prepositions, and verb forms.

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.