Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-29
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)
A lot of young students take a year to gain the expertise of work or travel before starting the university and after leaving the school.This understanding of non-acadamic life have a possitive consequences on the individuals when they return into the education.I partially agree because people can manage their study and working hours and learn the hardships of life,and partially disagree because they do not take seriously everything in life.
To begin with,there are a lots of advantages for the students before starting their university life.Acadamic life is so tough and boring because individuals have to do much work and take more time to concentrate on study.First,they do not make burdens of their family and get high education alone with experience they got a year ago.Second,they learn how to manage study ,sports and a time for the family.
But here are some drawbacks due to the following reasons
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response is severely under-length, containing only 148 words compared to the required minimum of 250 words. As a direct consequence of this under-length penalty, the task cannot be fully developed. The writer attempts to address the prompt by stating a partial agreement and partial disagreement stance, mentioning that gap years help individuals manage study and work hours while also noting that some students might not take life seriously. However, the ideas remain highly undeveloped and truncated, especially given that the essay cuts off mid-sentence after introducing the drawbacks. Because the response fails to meet the word count requirement and leaves the argument incomplete, it can only be awarded a band score of 4.0 for Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The essay displays basic structural organisation, with an introductory paragraph that outlines the writer's stance, followed by a body paragraph initiated with a standard cohesive phrase ('To begin with, there are a lots of advantages...'). However, coherence is heavily impacted by the abrupt ending of the text mid-sentence ('But here are some drawbacks due to the following reasons'), leaving the response unfinished. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final section is incomplete and fails to form a proper concluding or developing body paragraph. Cohesive devices are minimal and somewhat mechanical. Overall, the structural progression is disrupted by the severe truncation, aligning the response with the descriptors for Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses a limited range of vocabulary appropriate for basic communication, such as 'young students', 'work', 'travel', and 'university'. There are several noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'gain the expertise of work', 'non-acadamic life', 'possitive consequences' (spelling error), and 'make burdens of their family'. These errors show a lack of precision and control over less common lexical items. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey a general topic, the spelling mistakes and unnatural collocations cause some strain for the reader, placing this aspect of the writing firmly at Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several noticeable grammatical errors, such as 'before starting the university and after leaving the school' (unnecessary articles and prepositions), 'This understanding... have a possitive consequences' (subject-verb agreement error), and 'get high education alone with experience' (incorrect preposition use). Furthermore, punctuation spacing errors are frequent throughout the text, such as missing spaces after commas and periods. Although the meaning is usually retrievable, the density of errors in such a short text limits the score to Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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