IELTS Writing Task 2 essay with model answer
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic
In some countries, young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Many youngsters are urged to take a year off to work or study before they start tertiary studies. This essay will illustrate both the benefits and drawbacks of taking a gap year.
There are many advantages to taking a break after high school. To begin with, a preference to take a gap year can lead to better real life experiences and career selection. For instance, in this time, young people can travel to a number of places around the world; as a result, this would allow them to experience various cultures and to explore their knowledge. Moreover, some youngsters also prefer to work during this time. This would help them to showcase their skills as well as to choose a right career path. For example, many software engineers believe that it was easy for them to choose a specific software development course after they worked in the IT industry.
However, for every positive there is a negative, the flip side of taking a gap year is being a year behind academically. This means starting one's university program a year later and graduating a year later than ones peers. In addition, there might be some financial drawbacks. For example, some scholarships do not allow students to defer so the decision of taking a gap year might be at the loss of a scholarship. Thus, the disadvantages of a gap year need to be weighed up against the advantages.
To sum up, this essay weighed that taking a break to travel or work in between high school and university can be beneficial for personal and professional development. On the other hand, it can delay academic progress by one year. Both the positives and negatives need to be considered before making a decision.
Total Words: 300
Task Achievement: 8
Coherence & Cohesion: 7
Lexical resources: 7
Grammar: 8
Overall Score: Band 7.5
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