Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-03
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)
Many youth prefer taking a break after finishing high school and before starting tertially education inorder to travel or gain work experience. Although this may delay them in finishing their tertially education I strongly agree as taking a break to travel might help them refresh while the work experience might help them in deciding what education programme to venture into.
After finishing school a break is necessary because it helps you refresh before proceeding to another level.Most of the time students are exosted at the end of high school they have worked so hard inorder to achieve the grade they needed. Proceeding before break can be dangerous therefore there is need to travel, refresh and relax. For example it takes 8 years for high school and 4 years for university education, Continuing without break would translate to 12 year of hard work which will be hectic.
This break is also benefial because at this pointing time they are making a decision on what career to choose.Doing small work might help them realise what they are interested in and choose that as their field of study. Additionally they will have a clear picture of what the Job industry is like. For example if during this break someone is working in house keeping in Hotels they might know whether they are interested in tourism or not.
In Conclusion taking a break is necessary as it helps the student refresh and choose their careers propery. Students should be given an opportunity to rest before starting university education.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by presenting a clear position on the value of a gap year and supporting it with relevant arguments. For example, the writer argues that travel allows students to refresh after high school, and that work experience helps in making informed career choices, such as working in hotel housekeeping to test an interest in tourism. However, some ideas show signs of under-development and could be extended further with deeper explanations or more detailed examples. The position remains clear throughout the essay, demonstrating the solid characteristics required for this level while hinting at the more fully developed support typical of higher bands.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas from introduction to body paragraphs and conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate main points, such as the benefits of refreshing through travel and the advantages of gaining work experience. Cohesive devices are employed, though referencing and linking can sometimes feel mechanical or slightly repetitive, such as the repeated use of 'For example'. Pronoun referencing and inter-sentence links are generally functional, maintaining clear communication throughout, which positions the response securely at this level of organisation.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'venture into', 'exosted', and 'benefial'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'tertially' instead of 'tertiary', 'inorder', 'exosted', and 'propery'. While these lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips do not impede communication, they restrict the vocabulary score. To move up, the writer needs to expand their range of less common lexical items and ensure greater accuracy in spelling and word forms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at complex structures such as conditional and concessive clauses in sentences like 'Although this may delay them... I strongly agree as taking a break... might help'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('house keeping', 'Job industry'), punctuation omissions around introductory clauses, and minor prepositional inconsistencies. Nevertheless, these errors rarely impede communication. The control over basic structures is sound, and the presence of mixed sentence forms reflects the expected grammatical profile.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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