Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-18

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 6.0)

Neumerous individuals are opting towards taking a gap year when they finish high school and prior to starting their university life. The purpose seems to be either to gain expereince in the job market or travelling the world. This seem to be a rather rational step to most people, while some are against it. I firmly believe that taking a year out for yourself from the acedemic process is the best option. My inclination is firmly elaborated in the ensuing paragraphs along with plausible examples.

The foremost argument is that Individuals who decide to take a gap year, whether it is to travel the world or to gain practical job expereince before deciding on their next step, takes a rational decision. The reason for such endeavour is that, the acedemic system is at a turning point for an individual at this step. Once a student garduates they are ready to make choices that will become permanent and will decide the future trajectory of their life. Thus, taking at step back and exploring the job market or tarvelling the world before commiting to something for life is the considered an agreeable point on many bases. For instance, if someone wants to pursue medicine as a profession, which requires years for complete dedication, they will try to travel as much as they can before staring their professtional journey or when a person is deciding on which career path to choose for themselves, they will try to gain experience in the market before comitting to the ardous journey of pursuing a degree and spending years completing it. That being the reason behind my stand on agreeing with individuals choosing to take a gap year.

On the contrary, some people counter claim the mentioned support. The formost argument they do is that the gap year is a waste of time, and such endeavours like travelling and gaining expereince can be done even during your journey of pursuing the degree. The reason they give behind such a stance is that, taking a gap year is a wastage of crucial opportunity of learning when your mind is fresh, and later they will not be able to qualify for the age limit of fresher positions in the market.

To conclude the discussion, It can be said that despite the fact the some people are not in favour of youngesters taking a gaps year after high school, my reason for supporting this school of thought is logically acceptable. The reason being the gap year is a rational decision and a reset point for these young ones before taking the difficult and demanding journey towards adulthood.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position agreeing with the benefits of a gap year. The ideas are extended and supported, such as discussing how a gap year acts as a mental reset before entering demanding fields like medicine. However, the development in the counter-argument paragraph remains slightly generalised, focusing broadly on the idea of a 'wastage of crucial opportunity' without deeply exploring alternative perspectives. The position is clear throughout, satisfying the requirements for a Band 7 score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments, such as the main supporting points and the counter-argument. Cohesive devices are employed reasonably well, using transitions like 'On the contrary' and 'To conclude the discussion'. However, some referencing and linking feels slightly repetitive or mechanical (e.g., repeating 'The reason behind...' and 'The reason why...'), which keeps the essay at a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, attempting less common items like 'trajectory', 'ardous', and 'rational step'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors throughout the text, including 'Neumerous' (Numerous), 'expereince' (experience), 'tarvelling' (travelling), 'acedemic' (academic), and 'youngesters' (youngsters). These errors occur frequently, though they do not seriously impede communication, placing the lexical control firmly at Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional structures ('if someone wants to pursue medicine...') and relative clauses. There is good variety in sentence forms, but numerous grammatical and mechanical errors are present, including subject-verb agreement issues ('Individuals who decide... takes a rational decision') and punctuation slips before concluding phrases. While communication is rarely impeded, the frequency of slips prevents the grammar score from reaching a Band 7.

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.