Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-12

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 students choose to take a gap year between finishing school and starting university in order to gain work experience or to travel. This experience rapidly increases their confidence.

Overall, take a gap year between school and university for a part-time job or exploring different places could gain a massive experience. In my perspective, this exposure will make a dramatic shift, and a person will back with a broad and a fresh mindset.

To begin with, the exposure of non-academic life benefits the students. The students are generally more competitive than other students. The job experience creates a several change and they become more focused and open minded. Therefore, they have an experience in a field where they had worked at that time. For instance, because of part-time work people are more responsible and stable. They will earn money and they could save this amount for their upcoming years. They would definitely use this money in school activities.

Additionally, travel experience will make a significant impact. The exposure of particular places and their cultural practices. As a result, they become aware of the cultures and traditions of different places. They can provide information to other people and they could spread positive information about the locations where they visit. They are familiar to travel alone and had a significant impact on their minds. They faced difficulties while travelling alone. They gain experienced and are motived to take many difficult decisions in their life.

In conclusion. the experience of a gap year will definitely impact the life of students. They become more intelligent and smart.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the benefits of taking a gap year, such as gaining work experience and travelling, and presents a clear position that you agree with the statement. Ideas are generally relevant, but their development is often limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on work experience mentions that individuals become more responsible, but this point is not fully extended with deep elaboration or concrete real-world examples beyond general assertions. Similarly, the travel paragraph touches on cultural awareness and overcoming travel difficulties, but the ideas remain at a surface level. While all parts of the task are addressed, the lack of thorough development places this response firmly at Band 6, reflecting relevant ideas that remain somewhat under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear stance established in the introduction and a concluding sentence at the end. Paragraphing is utilised to separate the introduction, body paragraphs for work and travel, and a conclusion. However, cohesion at the sentence level is frequently faulty or mechanical. For example, sentences such as 'Therefore, they have an experience in a field where they had worked at that time' lack clear logical links to preceding statements. Referencing is occasionally ambiguous, and transitional phrases are used rigidly, resulting in choppy transitions between ideas. The progression of thought is evident, but the structural glue needs greater flexibility and accuracy, aligning with the Band 5.5 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate basic ideas about employment and travel. However, the range is limited and frequently repetitive, relying on common words like 'experience', 'students', and 'people'. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations that reveal a lack of precision, such as 'take a gap year... for a part-time job or exploring different places could gain a massive experience' and 'back with a broad and a fresh mindset'. Attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'dramatic shift' or 'cultural practices', are occasionally marred by inaccurate word choice. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'Many students choose to take a gap year between finishing school and starting university in order to gain work experience or to travel.' However, grammatical accuracy is a weak point, with frequent errors in tense consistency, article usage, and sentence structure. Examples include 'take a gap year' instead of 'taking a gap year', 'a person will back with', and fragmented or run-on structures like 'They are familiar to travel alone and had a significant impact on their minds.' Punctuation errors are also present, notably a period used incorrectly in the final paragraph ('conclusion. the experience'). Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.

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

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