Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-22

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 5.0)

In the contemperory era, several youngsters prefer to take a gap year before starting university after their graduating from high school in order to earn some experience in doing job or voyage. While the year off studies prove to be advantegous for them as they gain real life experience on their their return to student life. I completely agree with this notion and the reasons behind thsi will be explained in subsequent paragraphs.

To commence with, the major reason beind choosing work over studies after school, give the reality check to an individual that how they can train themselves to be a fit for a particular job role by choosing a course that is necessary.

To expound, when the student choose to work instead of studying forward they understand how they can increase their potential to get into better opportunities for their lucrative future as they understand job market, face competition in outer world and decide which skills are required to decide the field they want to work in. Moreover, they can opt for further study options mindfully and more practically to achieve sucess in their life. For instance, if the individual is intrested in fashion other than studies, they can explore the opportunity by getting into that work and comprehend if they can do it and how things go

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position agreeing with the notion that a gap year benefits students returning to education. Key ideas regarding gaining practical experience and making mindful study choices are introduced. However, the response is significantly under-length, containing only 220 words instead of the required 250-word minimum. This negative impact on development means ideas are somewhat under-developed and abruptly cut off. The second body paragraph trails off and lacks a complete conclusion or proper final development. Consequently, Task Achievement is penalised for length and under-development, aligning best with Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay demonstrates an attempt at logical organisation with introductory and body paragraph markers like 'To commence with' and 'To expound'. However, overall progression is hindered by repetitive phrasing and run-on sentences. Paragraphing is initiated, but the second paragraph is overly long and structurally unwieldy, containing multiple ideas jammed into a single complex sentence structure without appropriate punctuation pauses. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or inaccurate, such as 'studying forward' or 'intrested in fashion other than studies'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear ('thsi', 'they'). While an overall structure is visible, the execution falls into Band 5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for an academic discussion, including terms like 'contemperory', 'advantegous', 'lucrative', and 'comprehend'. However, there are numerous spelling errors throughout the text ('contemperory', 'advantegous', 'thsi', 'beind', 'sucess', 'intrested') and frequent awkward collocations ('earn some experience in doing job or voyage', 'studying forward'). These errors reflect a limited control of word formation and spelling, although they rarely impede overall comprehension completely. This performance matches the criteria for Band 5.0, where noticeable errors and a limited range are apparent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some ambition in sentence structures (e.g., 'While the year off studies prove to be advantegous...'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors including subject-verb agreement issues ('the year off studies prove', 'when the student choose'), missing prepositions, and awkward phrasing that creates awkward syntax. Punctuation is also problematic, notably a major sentence fragment error in the introduction ('...student life. I completely agree...'). Because complex sentence attempts are frequently faulty and errors are frequent, a Band 5.0 score is appropriate.

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

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