Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-06

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 7.0)

In today's contemporary world, exploring different aspects of the outer world at a very young age is quite commendable. Today's youth prefer to take a year-long break before starting university to gain work experience or explore the world. Further, this essay would discuss views on a given statement and provide a personalized opinion to a certain extent, which would be articulated in the trail paragraphs.

To begin with, taking time before committing to a particular career path is very important nowadays. Many high school graduates prefer to travel and explore the world on their own, which is quite beneficial for an individual. As they travel from their natural habitat to other corners of the globe, they bring several benefits to personal and professional aspects to a certain level. For instance, a high school graduate from an elementary school who's never been out of the province in their lifetime travels to Scotland for the first time and learns about the culture, food, and diversity of a totally new country, which brings significant knowledge and perspective on the world.

Furthermore, a significant portion of high school graduates spend a year of their valuable time working before pursuing university education, which not only provides a means of earning money but also offers a pragmatic way to develop a new skill set suited to the needs of today's practical world. Moreover, an individual would get some serious knowledge and values of the necessity of money, and most importantly, about its management, which aids in mitigating unnecessary spending.

On closer scrutiny, the idea of taking a break to explore the world or gain work experience is very thoughtful. Hence, I strongly agree with the given statement, as it broadens an individual's perspective and provides valuable insights into choosing a future career path.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses the prompt well, clearly stating a position in favor of taking a gap year. The ideas regarding personal growth through travel and professional development through work experience are relevant and logically extended. However, the development is slightly uneven; the example of a student traveling to Scotland is a bit specific and could be more generalized to better support the argument. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points and reinforces the writer's stance. To reach a higher band, ensure that all arguments are fully explored with more depth rather than just stating the benefits.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'On closer scrutiny' are used effectively to guide the reader through the argument. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the topic. The progression of ideas is smooth, and referencing is generally clear. While the structure is sound, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to avoid a slightly mechanical feel in the transition between sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. The writer uses some good collocations such as 'career path', 'pragmatic way', and 'mitigating unnecessary spending'. There are some instances of slightly awkward phrasing, such as 'outer world' and 'natural habitat', which are not entirely natural in this context. While the range is adequate to convey meaning clearly, the use of less common lexical items is somewhat limited. To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and refining collocations to sound more natural and sophisticated.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The essay demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are clear and error-free, which ensures that the message is easily understood. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as 'an elementary school who's never been out of the province', which is slightly confusing in its construction. Punctuation is generally accurate. To achieve a higher band, the writer should aim for a greater variety of complex structures, such as conditional sentences or more sophisticated relative clauses, while maintaining the current level of accuracy.

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

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