Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-11-04

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)

Nowadays, many people prefer to take a gap year between finishing school and starting university in order to gain experience or travel. I strongly agree with this opinion because a gap year helps us learn many new things, such as personal development, gaining new skills, and financial management.

First, if a student takes a gap year, it helps them develop personally. For example, they can improve their communication skills with colleagues, managers, heads, CEOs, friends, and other people. This helps them improve their communication skills and learn how to answer questions.

Second, if they work at a skills academy, it helps them learn new skills, and they become financially independent during that year. This helps them afford their responsibilities and manage their budget. During this period of time, they become strong and financially stable enough to handle their own responsibilities. In this way, they do not rely on their parents.

Third, they learn how to manage their budget with this money and do not depend on their family. They learn how to tackle different situations. They have their own responsibilities, and in this way, they can learn the importance of money.

Fourth, when they travel for work, they learn how to live alone and manage their daily routine. In this way, they can manage their daily routine and become more responsible and active.

In conclusion, a gap year is important for people to gain experience, learn new things, and build a responsible routine. I agree with this opinion because a gap year helps students work and learn many new things.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you strongly agree that a gap year can benefit students, and you give relevant reasons, including communication, financial independence and responsibility. However, the response only partially develops the task. Several points repeat the same idea—for example, paragraphs two and three both focus on managing money and not relying on parents—while the link between these experiences and students’ return to education is not explained. The travel point is also brief and does not show how living alone or managing a routine helps with university study. To strengthen the response, explain each main benefit with a specific example and connect it directly to how it prepares a student for education.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate body paragraphs and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “First,” “Second,” and “In conclusion” make the order easy to follow. However, the progression is somewhat mechanical, and the repeated “In this way” links do not always show a clear relationship between ideas. The second and third body paragraphs overlap considerably, repeating financial independence and responsibility rather than advancing the argument. Some references, such as “this money,” could also be clearer about what they refer to. Group related points into fewer, more developed paragraphs, and use linking expressions that show cause, result or contrast more precisely.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including relevant terms such as “financially independent,” “responsibilities” and “communication skills.” However, the range is limited, and several words and phrases recur, particularly “learn,” “manage,” “responsibilities” and “In this way.” Some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “work at a skills academy” and “travel for work,” which make the examples difficult to understand. Aim for more precise wording and vary repeated terms; for instance, specify the kind of job or travel experience and describe the skills gained. More accurate collocations would make your argument clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

Your sentences are generally understandable, and you use both simple statements and subordinate clauses, as in “if a student takes a gap year, it helps them develop personally.” The repeated sentence patterns, however, limit the range, and some constructions are awkward or unclear. For example, “when they travel for work” does not fit clearly with the earlier discussion of taking a gap year, while “they can improve their communication skills with colleagues, managers, heads, CEOs, friends, and other people” is structurally understandable but overloaded. There is also repetition of the same clause pattern, especially “This helps them…” and “In this way…”. Practise varying sentence structures and make sure each clause expresses a clear relationship between the experience and its benefit.

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

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