Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-07

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 6.5)

In recent times, there has been an increasing tendency of many young people taking a year gap after finishing school before starting their higher education mainly to gain practical experiences or to travel. While this trend offers substantial benefits when they resume their studies, I firmly agree with this statement of ensuring a year gap between the shift.

One of the marked benefits is that, it provides sufficient time for students to explore their interests through various work experiences and travel. Furthermore, it enables the individual to choose the specific university which offers career opportunities towards the specific branch of their interest. For example, if a person is interested in repairing gadgets and using tools efficiently, the person can choose a mechanical engineering course and pursue employment in the related services. Although some believe that taking a year out wastes a lot of time, it is imperative that a student uses this time in knowing their interests and choose the career wisely.

Additionally, this trend plays an indispensible role in enabling the students to develop various non-academic skills that are important in building long-tem success. For instance, students travelling to different countries can explore the new customs of the place and experience new cultures along with gaining some language skills. This further enables the individual to gain good communication skills, access new technological aspects of the foreingn country and build new relationships. In this process, the individual can explore new aspects of life and gain some experience of the current situation of the world and also helps them think wisely on choosing their field of interest.

To conclude, travelling or gaining some work experience by taking a year out before starting the university education is known to show profound impact in deciding the best career pathway among many young individuals. Moreover, it also helps in developing some essential life skills like better communication and hands-on work exprience that are increasingly valued in today's society for gaining better employment opportunities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you firmly support taking a year out, and the conclusion restates the benefits. You address both work experience and travel, explaining how a gap year can help students identify interests, choose a course, and develop communication and cultural awareness. The examples, such as someone interested in repairing gadgets considering mechanical engineering, make the discussion relevant. This is a well-supported response overall. However, some claims are broad or not fully explained: the link between travel, access to “new technological aspects,” and choosing a field of study is unclear, and the essay gives less detail about how work experience specifically helps students when they return to education. Developing these connections would make the argument more consistently convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present distinct benefits, and the conclusion summarises your position. Ideas generally progress logically, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “Additionally,” and “To conclude” help readers follow the argument. The examples are placed alongside the points they support. At times, however, linking is somewhat mechanical, and some sentences combine several related but loosely connected claims. In the travel paragraph, for example, customs, language skills, communication, technology, relationships, and career choice are listed without clearly showing how each leads to the next. Use fewer list-like additions and make the relationship between each supporting detail and your main point explicit. This would make the progression smoother and cohesion more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including phrases such as “work experiences,” “non-academic skills,” “career pathway,” and “hands-on work experience.” There are also attempts at more formal or less common wording, such as “imperative” and “profound impact.” However, some choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision: “a year gap” is better expressed as “a gap year,” “ensuring a year gap” does not convey your intended meaning, and “access new technological aspects” is unclear. Spelling errors such as “indispensible,” “long-tem,” “foreingn,” and “exprience” also affect accuracy. Aim for natural collocations and check spelling carefully; precise, familiar phrasing is more effective than formal-sounding expressions used awkwardly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including a concession beginning “Although some believe…” and a relative clause in “the university which offers career opportunities.” Meaning is generally clear, and the response includes several well-formed sentences. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with sentence construction and agreement. In “One of the marked benefits is that, it provides…,” the comma after “that” is unnecessary, and “one of the benefits” would require a plural noun. The final sentence of the travel paragraph shifts from “the individual” to “and also helps them,” making the subject unclear. There are also awkward constructions such as “in enabling the students to develop.” Review clause structure, consistent subjects, articles, and punctuation. Greater accuracy across these varied sentence forms would strengthen control.

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