Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-08

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 years, taking a gap year between comleting secondary school and entering university has become increasingly popular. While some argue that this interruption can disrupt a students's momentum, i firmly believe that spending time gaining work experience or travelling offers substantial benefits for individuals upon their return to education.

First and foremost, a gap year fosters essential personal growth and independence. When yound adults step outside the familiar academic environment, they are often required to manage real world responsibilities. For instance, travelling or securing a job teaches crucial life skills such as financial budgeting, adaptiveness, and effective problem-solving. These experiences build self-reliance and emotional maturity, qualities that prove invaluable when handling the independent living and rigorous demands associated with university life.

Furthermore, taking the time away from formal study provides students with greater clarity regarding their future ambitions. Many high school graduates feel uncertain about their career paths and choose certain purposeless degree programs. Experiencing the non-academic real world whether through a job or travel will help the students to discover their true interests and strengths. Consequently, before entering the university they would be clear which degree programs suits them best and by choosing the best programs they will go to the classes with utmost interest and perform better eventually.

In conclusion, although stepping away from education feels a bit off to certain people, the experiential learning gained during a gap year is overly advantageous. It equips the students with pratical skills and a clearer sense of direction, ultimately shaping out their lives through maximizing their dedication and performance during their university years and beyond.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you firmly support gap years, and the conclusion restates that view. You address both work and travel and give two relevant reasons—personal development and greater clarity about future study. The examples of budgeting, problem-solving, and choosing a suitable degree help explain the benefits. This meets the task well, with some elements showing the extension expected at a stronger level. However, the second reason is less fully developed: the claim that graduates may choose “purposeless degree programs” is broad, and the essay does not give a specific example of how work or travel reveals a particular interest. Develop that link more concretely and qualify general claims to make the argument more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your position, two body paragraphs present separate reasons, and the conclusion summarises the argument. Signposting such as “First and foremost,” “Furthermore,” and “Consequently” helps readers follow the sequence, while the examples generally appear beside the points they support. This is a logical and easy-to-follow structure. Some linking is a little mechanical, however, and the long chain of ideas in the second body paragraph—especially the sentence beginning “Consequently, before entering the university”—would be clearer if divided and connected more precisely. Use pronouns and transitions carefully to show exactly how each experience leads to improved university performance.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “personal growth,” “self-reliance,” “emotional maturity,” and “future ambitions.” These choices communicate your ideas clearly, and some less common expressions show an effort to be precise. However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling slips reduce accuracy: “adaptiveness” is less natural here than “adaptability,” “overly advantageous” is awkward, and “pratical” is misspelled. “Real world” is also repeated, and “purposeless degree programs” sounds too absolute for the point being made. Aim for natural academic collocations and check spelling; a more precise vocabulary range would make the argument sound more controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including a concessive opening (“While some argue…”) and clauses explaining consequences. Most sentences remain understandable, and the grammar does not prevent the reader from following your position. Some errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction remain. For example, “a students's momentum” has an incorrect possessive form, and “which degree programs suits them best” has a subject–verb agreement error. The sentence beginning “Consequently, before entering the university” also combines several clauses in a way that makes the structure difficult to control. Review agreement and article use, and split long sentences when they contain several linked outcomes.

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