In some countires, many young people choose to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting universitiy studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.

Taking a gap year is becoming popular among school leavers as they are attracted by the idea of taking a break from studying in order to gain necessary work and life
experience
.
Although
it is claimed by others that it is a loss of time and school graduates have to continue their education at universities or colleges. In my essay, I am going to see if the benefits of taking a break outweigh the drawbacks. There are some crucial pros of working and travelling before your university studies begin.
Firstly
, you can find a part-time job and you can gain some work
experience
. Apparently, your position will not be high or well-paid,
however
, you can challenge yourself in a variety of spheres,
as well as
build some valuable connections.
Consequently
, when you get a degree it will be easier to find a better job.
Moreover
, travelling around the world broadens your mind as you see different people and customs,
as a result
, you become more tolerant and communicative.
This
break can help young people to relax and find new friends around the globe. Later
such
connections can be vital for their career.
On the other hand
, there is an opposite point of view on that issue. It is believed that students should not waste their time and enter a university after high school. In
this
case, unfortunately, they do not have any valuable working
experience
. As graduates are normally required to have at least a couple of years of working
experience
, lack of it may lead to certain problems.
Above all
,
due to
the young age of 17-18, there is a risk of making a wrong choice. So, young people might have regrets or doubts about their chosen career path. Taking everything into account, despite some obvious drawbacks of a gap year,
such
as lack of working
experience
or some psychological troubles,
for example
, stress and regrets, there is a huge number of positive points. Taking a free year allows you to explore the world better and understand what future perspectives you have.
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task achievement
Ensure that your main points are always clearly aligned with the prompt. Make sure to expand on relevant specific examples to further strengthen your argument.
coherence cohesion
Maintain a consistent tone throughout the essay. Continue to use clear signposting to help the reader navigate through your points. This will further enhance your logical structure.
coherence cohesion
Your essay has a clear and logical structure with a good introduction and conclusion.
task achievement
You have effectively addressed the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of taking a gap year.
coherence cohesion
Your points are well-supported and you provide clear reasoning and examples to back them up. This helps in making your arguments more compelling.

Support ideas with relevant, specific examples

Examples make your writing easier to understand by illustrating points more effectively.

Examples, if used properly, not only help you get higher marks for ‘Task Response’ but also for ‘Coherence’.

When giving examples it is best to put them after your main idea or topic sentence. They can be used in the middle of supporting sentences or they can be used to start a new sentence. There is no rule for where exactly to give examples in essays, logically they would come after your main idea/topic sentence or just after a supporting sentence.

Linking words for giving examples:

  • for example
  • for instance
  • to illustrate this
  • to give a clear example
  • such as
  • namely
  • to illustrate
  • take, for example

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