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Writing Samples
Band 5

Some people believe that a gap year between school and university is a good idea, while others disagree strongly. Consider both sides of this debate and present your own opinion. You should give reasons for your answer, and include ideas and examples from your own knowledge and experience.

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While
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gap
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years
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 are increasingly popular, they continue to be rather controversial because the benefits are hard to quantify exactly. There are arguments on both sides of
this
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 very topical debate, and I will discuss them now. On the one hand, opponents of
gap
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years
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 point to the cost involved in areas
such
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 as
air fares
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airfares
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, accommodation and living expenses. All
this
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 money has to come from the student’s family, or even from borrowing to be paid later.
Secondly
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, it is often said that
gap
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years
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 take a young person’s focus away from studying
,
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apply
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 and allows them to get involved in distractions
such
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 as travelling.
This
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 can make it hard to adjust to university life, damaging the student’s performance.
Finally
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, there is a concern over the safety of young people if they are travelling to remote places. Being kidnapped or mugged is a poor start to an academic career, after all.
On the other hand
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, supporters of
gap
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years
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 say that the
skills
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 learned outweigh the disadvantages. They highlight the independence and assertiveness that a student will acquire, in areas
such
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 as time management and interpersonal
skills
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. They
also
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 say that these
skills
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 lead to greater career success later in life,
thus
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 cancelling out the costs involved.
Furthermore
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, there are
manyexamples
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many examples
 of young people using
gap
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years
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 to achieve something significant, whether in voluntary work or in a sector of business that interests them. In conclusion, my own feeling is that a year off can indeed be a useful activity, with the experience leading to improved
skills
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 that are invaluable in the future. Of course,
this
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 is provided that the year is planned carefully and used for something genuinely worthwhile.

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Structure your answers in logical paragraphs

The easiest way to score well on the IELTS Task 2 writing portion is to structure your writing in a solid essay format.

A strong argument essay structure can be split up into 4 paragraphs, each containing 4 sentences (except the conclusion paragraph, which only contains 3 sentences).

Stick to this essay structure:

  • Paragraph 1 - Introduction
  • Paragraph 2 - First supporting paragraph
  • Paragraph 3 - Second supporting paragraph
  • Paragraph 4 - Conclusion

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