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)

Many students take gap year after the schools to gain skills and to explore the places. Gap years helps the people to focus more after going to colleges. I competely agree with this statement because it gives enough time for the students to be free for extra activities and to decide best for upcoming future.

To begin with, there are several reasons why gap year helps in focusing more on studies. Firstly, it helps to choose the course in interested field. To explain, when individuals study the subject they like, they give priority to it and manage it properly. Secondly, It motivates people to do better in life. Elaborating further, gap year gives time for exploration and with the lots of suggestions and skills we gain in that year motivates us to be confident and do well in the life.

Although, taking a year out can be traumatising for some children because they think they are lacking behind and all of their friends are doing much in life, but, it is not like how they see in outside world. To clarify, people who faces a lot of difficulties and struggles in that year will also do better in future but it takes time to manage the things and happens as we think.

In conclusion, Taking a year gap is the best idea for me because i also took it and I am struggling until now however, I believe it will be great after month when I achieved the dream I always think of. So, according to me, utilizing the year for gaining skills and focusing on things we working for will takes to the success we wanted from years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you “completely agree” that a gap year can benefit students, and you give relevant reasons, including choosing a suitable course and gaining confidence through exploration. The personal reference in the conclusion also makes the response relevant to the topic. However, the discussion only partly addresses how non-academic experiences specifically help students when they return to education. For example, the point about choosing a course is introduced but not supported with a concrete example, while the claim that struggles during a gap year lead to future success remains vague. Develop each reason by explaining the link to university study and illustrating it with a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “Firstly,” and “Secondly” help signal the order of ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the second body paragraph moves from feeling left behind to facing difficulties and then to future success without clearly connecting these points. Some linking expressions, including “Although” at the start of a paragraph and “To clarify,” do not accurately show the relationship between the ideas that follow. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each explanation directly to its main point; this will make the overall argument easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “gap year,” “exploration,” “skills,” and “confident,” and the reader can generally understand your main ideas. However, the range is limited and several word choices or combinations sound unnatural, such as “focus more on studies,” “lacking behind,” and “do well in the life.” Repetition of general terms such as “things,” “year,” and “future” also limits precision. Aim to use more specific language for the experiences and outcomes you discuss, and learn common collocations as complete phrases. This would help you express your ideas more naturally and reduce moments where the reader has to interpret your intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a concession beginning “Although” and explanations introduced by “To explain” and “Elaborating further.” However, complex sentences are often difficult to control, and frequent errors affect clarity. Examples include “Gap years helps,” “people who faces,” and “will takes,” where subject–verb agreement is incorrect. Articles and sentence construction are also problematic in “after the schools” and “it will be great after month when I achieved.” Capitalisation is inconsistent, as in “It” and “Taking” after commas or paragraph breaks. Practise accurate agreement, verb forms and sentence boundaries, then check each sentence for a clear subject and correctly formed verb.

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