Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

it is becoming increasingly common for young people to take a gap year between completing school and starting university.durng thisperiod they may choose to work ,travel or participate in other avtivities . i largely agree that such experience can be highly beneficial ,they can help young people develop practical skills , maturity and clearer matyurity of understand to eveyone

first of all one significant advatages of taking ayear out of the opportunity to gan practical work experience .unlike school,university

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

You state a relevant position—“i largely agree”—and begin to identify practical work experience as a benefit, so the response is on topic. However, the discussion stops just as the first supporting point begins (“unlike school, university”), and there is no explanation, example, or consideration of how travel or other experiences help when students return to education. The response therefore addresses the question only minimally, with the main ideas left undeveloped. It also does not meet the required minimum length, which severely limits how fully you can answer both the question and the instruction to give reasons and examples. Develop at least two clear reasons and support each with a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The opening gives the reader a basic direction: you introduce the gap year and then state that you largely agree. The phrase “first of all” also signals an attempt to organise the discussion. However, the response ends before this first point is completed, so there is no clear progression from claim to explanation or example, and no developed paragraph structure. The long opening sentence joins several ideas with commas, making the relationship between them unclear. To improve, use separate paragraphs for your position and each main reason, and connect ideas explicitly—for example, explain how work experience builds a skill and why that skill helps at university.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “gap year,” “work experience,” “practical skills,” and “maturity,” which shows an attempt to discuss the subject directly. However, the range is very limited in this short response, and several spelling or word-form errors make parts difficult to understand, such as “durng thisperiod,” “avtivities,” “matyurity,” and “advatages.” The phrase “clearer matyurity of understand to eveyone” is especially unclear and does not communicate a precise benefit. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, you could describe students as gaining “greater self-awareness” or “a clearer understanding of their goals,” then explain what those terms mean in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

There is an attempt to use a complex sentence in “i largely agree that such experience can be highly beneficial,” and the opening uses a basic range of clauses. However, sentence boundaries and punctuation are often missing: the first sentence runs into “university.durng,” while the final sentence begins “first of all” and remains incomplete at “unlike school,university.” The clause after “highly beneficial” is also joined with a comma rather than being clearly connected or separated. Capital letters are missing at sentence beginnings, and the unfinished final clause prevents the reader from seeing a complete grammatical structure. Practise writing complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs, then check punctuation and capitalisation.

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

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