Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-04

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 5.5)

Many young individuals decide to get break when they finishing their school and before starting the university for gaining work experience. these knowledge which gain without education so it benefit for citizen when they return to education, I completely agree by this statement because when they gain some knowledge about any skills it is more beneficial for student.

the first argument is that when some gain experience after finishing their school, so it is more preferable, because when students face financial problem in their study when they take admission in university. furthermore, they can work in their field easily and earn money, after that they easily survive their own budget. furthermore, they gain experience for their real life and also build better communication skills. for instance, when individuals work their own field they meet with different people, then confidence build in the individuals.

second argument is that the when citizen travel different places they know about the different people, because they meet different people and they easily communicate with everyone. in contrast, after travelling they do more mature and easily survive in thier university, moreover, they independent their own decision and face every problem easily. for example, when citizen travell many places they know well about every place and they did not face any problem when they go to other city for education and other work.

in conclusion, when individuals get break after complete their school study, so they travell their different place and work on other field is more beneficial. however, in my opinion i agree that by those people which work and gain experience and travell on many places.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear overall position agreeing with the prompt. Relevant ideas are introduced, such as gaining financial independence, building real-world skills, and developing communication abilities through travel. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat uneven and lacks depth. For example, the mention of handling financial problems is stated rather than fully explained, and the arguments occasionally drift into repetitive generalisations rather than moving forward with strong supporting examples. To reach a higher level, the ideas need to be more fully extended with more specific, well-reasoned explanations and concrete examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear stance stated in the introduction and reiterated in the conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised to separate distinct arguments regarding work experience and travelling. Nevertheless, cohesion is often mechanical and repetitive, particularly with the frequent overuse of transition markers like 'furthermore' and 'for example'. Referencing is also sometimes unclear, as seen with ambiguous pronouns that make it difficult to follow the logical links between sentences. To improve, the writer should use a wider and more natural variety of cohesive devices and ensure smoother transitions between ideas without relying on repetitive formulas.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The lexical resource used in the response is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate basic points about taking a gap year, travelling, and working. However, the vocabulary is limited and repetitive, with frequent reliance on basic words and imprecise word choices. There are noticeable errors in word form and collocation, such as 'get break', 'citizen' used instead of young people or individuals, and 'travell their different place'. While these lexical shortcomings do not completely impede communication, they restrict the response. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a wider range of less common vocabulary and demonstrate greater precision in word choice and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence forms, demonstrating that the writer can string clauses together using conjunctions. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly involving tense consistency, missing articles, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'when they finishing', 'these knowledge which gain', and 'confidence build in the individuals'. Although these grammatical errors do not entirely obscure the meaning, they occur regularly throughout the text. To progress to a higher band, the writer must exercise better control over complex sentence structures and significantly reduce the frequency of basic grammatical slips.

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

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