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?
Sample Response
Taking a year off from education between finishing school or college and going to university is a popular choice for young people. Generally speaking, doing so does not negatively affect their educational progress and, depending on how the time awayout is spent, can lead to invaluable experiences before moving into higher education. For example, one of the most popular reasons for taking an educational break is to travel, this offers the student an opportunity to come face to face with different cultures, to meet new people and in some cases wilt open up new opportunities abroad that may not have arisen at home. Alternatively, some choose to spend the period workingspend the period in work. This could be in the voluntary sector, on conservation projects or in paid work, for example as an au pair or even teaching English overseas. The skills and experiences gained can be extremely useful at university and when looking for employment afterwards. However, taking a year out can have its drawbacks. To begin with, it means spending a year away from studying. Returning to studyit and regaining the discipline and focus required can be difficult for some. Additionally, the break can lead to carefully laid plans being derailedcarefully laid plans being blown off course if attractive offers of work or further travel become available. Nevertheless. it is probably true to say that the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. The time spent away from education gives young people the chance to reflect on their lives and important decisionsthe person the chance to reflect on life and any important decisions before committing tosigning up for a lengthy and expensive period of study. What is more, the experiences gained during the year out will build self-confidence and maturity, qualities that canwill prove invaluable in the years to come.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response gives a clear, well-supported evaluation of gap years, balancing travel and work benefits against realistic risks before reaching a consistent conclusion. Its principal weakness is presentation: the entire essay forms one paragraph, and a comma splice, a punctuation break, and a spelling slip interrupt otherwise fluent writing. The highest-priority improvement is to divide the argument into purposeful paragraphs and proofread sentence boundaries.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position is clear and consistent, with relevant benefits and drawbacks developed through specific, persuasive examples.
Deepen the link between the examples and success after returning to education for an even sharper response to the claim.
Coherence and Cohesion
The reasoning progresses smoothly and cohesive links are effective, but the lack of paragraphing obscures an otherwise clear structure.
Use separate paragraphs for benefits, drawbacks, and the final evaluation so each stage of the argument is immediately visible.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is broad, natural, and precise, including effective language for travel, employment, education, and personal development.
Maintain this precision while eliminating isolated slips through a final proofreading pass.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are handled with strong control, and the few errors are localized without hindering meaning.
Correct sentence-boundary punctuation and check for typographical errors before submission.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
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?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.