Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-05

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 people decided to take a break from their studies between the gap of college and university life for getting the work experience or travel.Although it is crucial for gaining more knowledge and practical skills but some people lose their significant time in unusual habit or activities.

To begin with advantages of work experience firstly, students gain more knowledge and practical skills.These skills plays a significant role in their future.Travelling also give a chance to explore different regions of the world and getting information about different traditions.Secodly, travelling also escape the students from their daily hectic routine and give a chance of relaxation which help the students before starting thier further study in university.For example, after my intermediate exams I went to northers areas of pakistan for some refreshment and also learn a skill of cooking which make me independent in the future.People sholud learn new skills that will helpfull in the future and make them independent.Unfortunately, in pakistan school mostly focus only on academic subjects and not perform practical skills.

However, break of one year during studies also has several drawbacks such as crime or alcohol abuse.During free time mostly people engage in bad activities.They lose their important time in drugs and alcohol abuse that will lead them to criminals.Government should enforce some internships programms for student who take a break from their studies and wants to gain work experience that will help ful in the future and also when they again persuade .their higher studies. Paractical skills is very necessay for success if people don't have field life experience then most people are rejected in interviews of company.

In conclusion, Work experience is very crucial for life and for further studies.Travelling is also a mojr role in studies because it broaden mind and explore different place for geeting more knowledge.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt regarding the advantages and disadvantages of taking a gap year, presenting a general position. However, the ideas are limited and under-developed, which keeps the response at this level. For instance, the discussion on drawbacks shifts abruptly into a rather extreme and generalised claim regarding crime and alcohol abuse, without sufficient support or balanced extension. The conclusion briefly restates points rather than fully synthesising the argument. While the main topic is recognized and partially addressed, the overall development lacks the depth and clarity required for a higher score, leaving certain points feeling repetitive or inadequately explored.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organisation present, with distinct paragraphs attempting to separate advantages, disadvantages, and the conclusion. However, there is no clear overall progression throughout the text. Cohesive devices are often inadequate, inaccurate, or repetitive, such as the frequent and mechanical use of 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'However' without smooth transitions between sentences. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within paragraphs is frequently faulty. For example, referencing can be unclear, and ideas are sometimes strung together with minimal logical linkage, causing the flow to feel disjointed. To progress further, the writer needs to employ a wider and more accurate range of cohesive ties and ensure a logical, seamless progression of ideas from one paragraph to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to communicate the basic points about gap years and work experience. There are noticeable lexical errors and issues with word choice, word form, and spelling that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples include 'unusual habit' instead of undesirable habits, 'northers areas' with a spelling error, 'programms' with an extra letter, and 'mojr' instead of major. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary items such as 'independence' and 'refreshment', but these are often accompanied by inaccuracies in collocation or form, such as 'learn a skill of cooking' or 'again persuade their higher studies'. To improve, the student needs to expand their range of vocabulary, pay closer attention to word formation and spelling, and use more precise phrasing suited to an academic context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside attempts at complex forms that are frequently faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors involving verb forms, tenses, subject-verb agreement, and articles. Examples include 'Many young people decided to take' where tense consistency is broken, 'for getting the work experience' where prepositional and article usage are incorrect, 'These skills plays' showing agreement error, and 'People sholud learn new skills that will helpfull' containing both spelling and structural slips. Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent across the text. Because complex structures tend to contain frequent errors that can cause some difficulty for the reader, control over grammar remains restricted to basic patterns.

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