Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-20

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)

In contemporary society, many young people choose to take a year out between finishing school and starting university in order to gain work experience or to travel. I largely believe that the experience of non-academic life this break offers benefits the individual academically when they return to education because it does not only improve their overall well-being but also elevates their concentration. One major reason why most students take a year out after finishing school is to gain experience. This is largely because studying alone is not sufficient in building individual career. Consider a student who is perssuing a teaching career, sometimes the period for teaching practice given by the university may not be enough for the learners to fully gain experience. when they return to education. As a result they become more focused on academic studies. Furthermore, others may opt to travel before returning to education because it helps them to re-energize and reduce stress that might have been caused by classroom environment.A student who spends several months travelling may have an opportunity to experience different cultures and environments, which can provide a mental break from the pressures of secondary education. After returning, this student may feel less stressed and more motivated to attend lectures and complete assignments, thereby improving academic performance.

  To conclude, although most young people choose to take a year out between finishing school and starting university in order to gain work experience or to travel. I strongly believe that it helps them academically when they return to education by improving their concentration and their overall well-being.

what will be thebscore of this

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the benefits of a gap year for university students, clearly taking a position in agreement. The ideas are generally relevant, such as gaining practical experience and reducing stress to improve academic performance. However, some arguments lack full development and contain minor logical leaps or mechanical phrasings, such as 'studying alone is not sufficient in building individual career' and the slightly abrupt transition into teaching practice. Furthermore, the concluding paragraph frames the opening statement as a concession rather than a restatement of the writer's stance. Consequently, the response aligns best with Band 6.5, but rounding to the official half-band scale places it at 6.0, as the main parts of the task are addressed with relevant, albeit somewhat under-developed, ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement and attempts to organise ideas logically across paragraphs. There is a clear introduction and conclusion, and the body paragraphs tackle distinct aspects of the prompt (work experience and travel). However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, sentences such as 'Consider a student who is perssuing a teaching career... when they return to education' suffer from grammatical disruption that breaks logical progression. Paragraphing is present, but the physical formatting exhibits some minor issues, such as a missing line break before the conclusion. Referencing is mostly clear, but cohesive devices are occasionally repetitive or overused. Overall, the organizational structure meets the criteria for Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'contemporary society', 'well-being', 're-energize', and 'academic performance'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, though this is occasionally accompanied by inaccuracies or spelling errors, such as 'perssuing' instead of 'pursuing'. Word choice is generally appropriate and communication is not impeded by lexical errors. While the range is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands, placing this submission firmly at a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over multi-clause structures, such as 'A student who spends several months travelling may have an opportunity to experience different cultures...'. However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward punctuation, such as missing capitalization ('when they return') and run-in phrasing without proper periods or commas in places. Some complex structures are faulty, like the sentence fragment 'As a result they become more focused on academic studies.' Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, allowing the writer to achieve a Band 6.0 for grammatical range and accuracy.

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

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