Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-11

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)

Many young people take a year out between finishing school and starting university. Because they gain work experience or to travel. In the future, this experience of non-academic life offers benefits the individual when they return to education. I fully agree with this statement because getting a experience in the life is a very useful thing for further career.

Firstly, people can learn about new things during a break between school and college. So, it is very useful for them whenever they come for their further study at college. Sometimes, children do not understand about some topics in their study. If they have already knowledge of that topic before their education start, they can easily understand the topic. For example, children take a year break and they go to space station for research in America. They learn new things about space technology, after they come at college. So, space technology is a very easy thing to understand for them in their syllabus.

Secondly, people can get experience during a break between school and college. They do work in different fields, so it is very useful in their further study and career like they can do part-time work during college. They can pay fees from their own income. For example, if people want to choose business field and they have already little experience about it, they can easily work in business field.

In conclusion, people want to take break for a year between end of the school and start of college life. This is very useful thing for them because they can get experience of a new thing and new technologies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by expressing a clear position in favor of a gap year. However, the development of ideas is limited and somewhat repetitive. The example provided regarding students going to a 'space station for research' is highly unrealistic and lacks the logical grounding required for an academic essay, which weakens the overall persuasiveness of the argument. While the main points (learning new things and gaining work experience) are relevant, they are not fully extended or supported with convincing, real-world evidence. To improve, focus on providing more plausible examples and ensuring that each paragraph contributes a distinct, well-reasoned argument that directly supports your thesis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical and repetitive. For instance, the frequent use of 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' is functional but lacks variety. Some transitions between sentences are abrupt, and the logical flow within paragraphs is occasionally hindered by simplistic sentence structures. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the connection between the gap year and the specific example of space research is not logically bridged. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between ideas would enhance the coherence of the writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'very useful thing' and 'get experience' are used multiple times, which limits the range of expression. There is little evidence of less common or idiomatic vocabulary. Furthermore, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'getting a experience' (should be 'gaining experience') and 'before their education start' (should be 'starts'). To reach a higher band, you should aim to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary and synonyms to avoid repetition and demonstrate a broader command of the language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While there are attempts at complex sentences, they often contain grammatical errors, such as 'Because they gain work experience or to travel' (a sentence fragment) and 'after they come at college' (incorrect preposition and tense). Subject-verb agreement and article usage are inconsistent throughout the text. The frequent errors in basic grammar and punctuation occasionally impede the flow of reading. To improve, focus on mastering the use of complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and conditional forms, and pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage.

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

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