Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-23

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)

Most of the people take a break of one year for either to gain job experience or for a vacation to travel after the scooling and before getting admission in a university for higher education. This experience of non-academic life provide benefits to the students when they continue their education again.

Those students, who take a break from education after getting their high school degrees, most of them get real world job experience to make them strong. Such srudents gain more confidence and show more interest towards life. They taste the value of currency as well. Additionally, those students who choose to travel, explore the new things. Such students relief themselves from a struggling life of education and take a break to learn more things other than education. Both of the stydents show more confidence after such break between education. i have a friend who choose a vacational holiday. He decided to get some practical life experience. previously he was an average student but after a break he showed a great come back.

on the other hand, there are such students as well who choose to get admission in the university directly just after the high school course completion withoit waiting a whole year. Such students do not learn about the real life experience. Such students mostly lack confidence. These students acts like robots.

To my conclusion, individuals should get a break between high school and university. They should give some time to themselves. This way, they will understand they real meaning of life. Otherwise, they will just stuck in education.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You take a clear position in favour of a year out, and you address both work experience and travel. The examples of gaining confidence, learning the value of money, and your friend returning as a stronger student are relevant to the question. However, the discussion remains limited and several claims are asserted rather than explained. For instance, saying that students who go straight to university “mostly lack confidence” and “act like robots” is an overgeneralisation, and you do not explain why a year out necessarily improves later academic performance. Develop one or two benefits in more depth and connect each explicitly to study, such as how workplace responsibility can improve motivation or time management.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph about the benefits of a break, a contrast with direct entry to university, and a conclusion. Linking phrases such as “Additionally” and “on the other hand” help signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within the main paragraph is repetitive: confidence is mentioned more than once, and the discussion moves quickly between work, travel, and your friend without clearly developing each point. References such as “Such students” are repeated and can make it unclear which group is meant. Use separate, focused paragraphs for work and travel, and connect examples to the point they support. A more precise conclusion would also summarise the main reasons rather than repeat the general recommendation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “job experience,” “real world,” “confidence,” and “practical life experience,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, which sometimes makes the reader pause. Examples include “taste the value of currency,” “relief themselves from a struggling life of education,” and “showed a great come back.” Spelling errors such as “scooling,” “srudents,” and “withoit” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise, natural phrases and check spelling carefully. Replacing broad expressions with topic-specific language about skills, independence, motivation, and academic readiness would make the argument clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, the range of structures is limited, and errors occur frequently in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “This experience … provide benefits” needs subject–verb agreement, while “These students acts” has the same problem. In “Most of the people take a break … for either to gain,” the opening construction is awkward and the infinitive pattern is faulty. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in “i have a friend” and the run-on transition into “previously.” Practise building accurate sentences with subordinate clauses, and proofread each sentence for a clear subject, correct verb form, and appropriate punctuation.

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

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