Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

It is often argued that many yiung people choose to take a year out between finishing school and starting university in order to gain experience or to travel .I completely agree with this point fo view as some decisions made in hurry may cause regret later.

Mainly if you look at the time between finishing school and starting university ,that is a very short period of time in which you have to look for different courses and different universities most of the students panic in this short period and get themselves into a course or a university which they later regret on.To end this issue a gap year is necessary or useful for students to think thoroughly regarding every detail and aspect. This helps them to make a decision from the experience they gain throughout this period and make a better decision.

In addition to that ,most of the universities require a strong CV with reallife work experience extra curricular and extra experienced which a candidate has .Most of the students get rejected from their dream universities because even though they have strong academic background but they lack real life skills and experience this puts students to choose a random university which gives them addmission.If a student has a dream university in which he wants to get into ,then he should take a gap year and prepare himselve through real life work experience, extra curricular and diffrent short certifications this will help them to build a strong personality as well as a strong CV so that they can be easily enrolled into their dream university.

IN CONCLUSION, I believe that a gap year between finishing school and starting university can help students to grow and choose what is best for them in their dream university.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you completely agree that a gap year can benefit students, and you give relevant reasons about making a considered university choice and gaining practical experience. The discussion of rushed decisions is explained with a plausible consequence, while the point about work experience and university applications is also relevant. However, the response focuses mainly on preparation for university admission and decision-making; it says less about how travel or non-academic experience helps students when they return to education. The conclusion restates your view but does not bring the reasons together. Develop this return-to-study benefit more directly, for example by explaining how independence or new perspectives can improve motivation and classroom participation, and support claims with a specific example. (The response includes 17 words copied from the task prompt.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting separate reasons, and a conclusion. Phrases such as “In addition to that” help signal a new point, and the main line of argument can be followed. However, progression within the body paragraphs is sometimes difficult because several ideas are joined into long sentences without clear punctuation. For example, the first body paragraph moves from the short decision period to panic, regret, and the value of a gap year in one extended sequence. Some linking is also mechanical, and references such as “this” in “This helps them” could identify the idea more precisely. Use clearer sentence boundaries and make each paragraph develop one central claim in a more deliberate order.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “gap year,” “work experience,” “academic background,” and “real life skills.” These choices make your main ideas understandable. However, the range is limited in places, and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, such as “extra experienced,” “regret on,” and “choose a random university.” Spelling errors, including “yiung,” “diffrent,” and “addmission,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise expressions and check spelling carefully; for instance, describe students as gaining practical skills or strengthening their applications rather than using unclear phrases. A broader set of terms for independence, maturity, and returning to study would also help you explain the topic more fully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “If a student has a dream university … then he should take a gap year” and clauses explaining consequences. This shows some range, and the overall meaning is generally recoverable. However, sentence boundaries and punctuation are often inaccurate, creating run-ons—for example, “most of the students panic in this short period and get themselves into a course … which they later regret on.” There are also errors in articles, agreement, and sentence construction, as in “a strong CV with … extra experienced which a candidate has” and “a gap year … can help students to grow and choose.” Use full stops to separate complete ideas, and check that each clause has a clear subject and verb. More accurate control of these patterns would make the argument easier to read.

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