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.

While
gap
years
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
very topical debate, and I will discuss them now. On the one hand, opponents of
gap
years
point to the cost involved in areas
such
as
air fares
Correct your spelling
airfares
show examples
, accommodation and living expenses. All
this
money has to come from the student’s family, or even from borrowing to be paid later.
Secondly
, it is often said that
gap
years
take a young person’s focus away from studying
,
Remove the comma
apply
show examples
and allows them to get involved in distractions
such
as travelling.
This
can make it hard to adjust to university life, damaging the student’s performance.
Finally
, 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
, supporters of
gap
years
say that the
skills
learned outweigh the disadvantages. They highlight the independence and assertiveness that a student will acquire, in areas
such
as time management and interpersonal
skills
. They
also
say that these
skills
lead to greater career success later in life,
thus
cancelling out the costs involved.
Furthermore
, there are
manyexamples
Correct your spelling
many examples
of young people using
gap
years
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
that are invaluable in the future. Of course,
this
is provided that the year is planned carefully and used for something genuinely worthwhile.
Submitted by subhiddin nuriddinov on

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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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