Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools - IELTS Writing Task 2

The idea of taking a ‘gap year’ - a period spent travelling or working before entering university - has become quite popular among young adults. As a result, one of the recent IELTS topics in Writing Task 2 ‘Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools’ covers this global trend and urges you to discuss its advantages and disadvantages.

This blog provides three sample answers for the IELTS essay ‘Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools’, along with an outline and relevant IELTS vocabulary, which is crucial for achieving a high band score.

Essay Question for ‘Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools’

Outline for an IELTS Advantages/Disadvantages Essay

Given below is an outline that will help you frame a top-scoring IELTS advantages/disadvantages essay answer for the topic, Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools.

Sample Answers for Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools IELTS Writing Task 2

You will find five IELTS Band 9 essay samples on the topic ‘Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools’, and these will help you write your own essay and achieve a high score.

Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools - Sample Answer 1

There is a growing trend towards taking a gap year before entering tertiary education among school leavers in certain parts of the world. While it is true that such practice is not without its disadvantages, I would argue that the benefits of going to work or travelling before one embarks on college far outweighs these disadvantages.

On the one hand, people’s concerns about delaying university are largely justifiable. To begin with, if a person opts to travel, there is the question of finance. Most high school graduates are unlikely to be able to fund their travels, and as a result, must ask their parents to pay for all the expenses of the trip. This is obviously undesirable, especially for families in developing nations, who have more urgent needs to address rather than travelling. Should they decide to go to work, there is a high chance that they would just end up doing part-time work with meagre pay. In addition, these jobs often provide employees with little exposure to professional working styles and skills, so most fail to gain any substantive benefits from them. For instance, my friend spent a summer working at a fast-food establishment in Hanoi, which he said was a complete waste of time because he could not acquire any new skills, nor could he procure any significant savings from the salary.

On the other hand, notwithstanding the described issues, I believe abundant advantages accrue to taking a year off before college. By going to work, youngsters can obtain valuable working experiences. The merit of this is they can put their study into perspective when they take university courses later. For example, an accounting major can better imagine how accounting theories and standards are applied in a corporate context if he has previous experiences reading financial statements and handling transactions as a cashier. By travelling, one has the chance to acquire useful life skills by living independently, especially if he journeys to a foreign country. I can personally vouch for this, as during my 3-year stay in America, not only did I materially improve my English, I was also able to learn how to live on a tight budget and manage personal finance.

In conclusion, it is my genuine belief that taking a gap year before enrolling in a university is a rewarding experience and definitely an option worth contemplating for those who are about to graduate from high school.

Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools - Sample Answer 2

People have been experimenting with all of the probable methods to lead a better life. Likewise, teenagers have found out varied ways to explore the world before they can begin tertiary education. In this essay, I will be discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of encouraging youngsters to work or travel before beginning the next step of their education.

Taking a brief break after secondary school has turned advantageous for youngsters. By visiting varying places, they will get the much-needed exposure to diverse traditions, cultures and an extensive range of people. This way, it will be easier for young people to attain social knowledge. It will also help in higher studies. And then, prior working experience is always a good point as it helps them prepare for the work life. On top of that, a lot of companies also prefer hiring experienced people.

However, there are also a few disadvantages to sending them on tour or for work. This way, there are higher chances of the education process getting disrupted. This could result in students not showing enough interest in higher studies. They will start enjoying working and earning well. Also, since youngsters may begin earning enough money, they might get inclined toward unwanted habits, including drugs, alcohol, smoking and more. And then, going on trips could impact their financial health and status as well.

At a glance, it is quite apparent that though there are only a few advantages, the disadvantages are clearly taking the bigger share here. Thus, I opine that young people should continue their studies.

Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools - Sample Answer 3

The trend of taking a year off from academics for seeking temporary employment or just for travelling is becoming popular among high school graduates. There are various reasons behind this tendency, some of which include the need for a change in the daily routine of a student and at the same time the potential exposure that is to be gained from work or travel. Although there is an ongoing debate on whether this phenomenon is feasible or not, I believe that a short hiatus from studies before pursuing a college education is more beneficial than it is disadvantageous. In the following paragraphs, I will explore the benefits and drawbacks of taking a recess from academics after completing high school.

Firstly, it is important to acknowledge the degree of pressure and stress that a student has to bear during their final high school examinations. The preparations for these assessments begin as early as a year before the actual examination and pupils have to follow a rigorous schedule to obtain a decent score. That being said, a break from schooling is mandatory for students to freshen their minds and bodies. At the same time, having some kind of work experience is always preferred when joining a reputed university as it helps students gain an edge over candidates.

However, there are limitations when it comes to travelling or seeking decent employment for high school graduates. As the qualifications of high school students are basic in nature, they are not suitable applicants for any full-time job roles. Thus, internships and part-time employment are the only options available for high schoolers. Furthermore, since young students are dependent on their parents financially, embarking on a long vacation might not be economically feasible for many underprivileged households.

In conclusion, I would like to say that there are both merits and demerits in taking a gap year before starting university education and although there is a lot to be gained from this measure, one must keep other factors in mind before making an influential decision.

Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools - Sample Answer 4

Vocabulary to Use for Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools - IELTS Writing Task 2

Here is an IELTS vocabulary words list for Band 8 or 9 related to the topic, ‘Young People are Encouraged to Work or Travel for a Year between Finishing High Schools’, that will help you boost your overall vocabulary.

In conclusion, to master such topics and IELTS essays, you need to practice IELTS Writing practice tests, learn how to present both sides with specific examples, and use Band 7+ vocabulary. It will take you one step closer to getting the writing band score you want and impressing your examiner.

Useful Links:

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