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IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Students who go directly from school to university benefit less from and contribute less to their courses than those who take a job or travel in order to get more experience in ‘real world’ before they start higher education.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer 1:
It is believed that young people who directly continue their study in an undergraduate course get less benefit and make fewer contributions to their program of study, compare to students who already have job experiences or travelled to another area to gain experiences in the workplace before they continue their university studies. With regard to the statement, I personally agree with it and the following essay will discuss in details. 

Some high school graduates choose to enter the university directly after they have finished their secondary school studies, and it is believed that they have some weak points. As they lack the real-world experiences, they prefer not to actively responses to the tutor's lecture. Most of them would accept all of the lecturers' discussions, though tutors could mislead with their presentations. Besides that, although these students might get good academic results, it would not guarantee that they would perform well in their workplaces. They only knew about theories that underlie behind their field of study, whereas in the real world, sometimes the theory contradict to the practice.

On the other hand, there are students who took several years trip to another place to gain cultural experiences or take some jobs to get work experiences, before they continue their undergraduate studies. Many people think that these valuable experiences will be positively impacted to their further studies. As they have gained real world experiences in their life, they could give some feedbacks, responses and shares their experiences in the classroom, which would make the atmosphere of the class, would be alive and positive. Besides that, during their study, they could also learn how to integrate and connect the theory with their previous work experiences. 

In conclusion, high school graduates have their own choices after they have finished high school. Some of them prefer to continue to the university study, while others choose to work for several years or take a trip to another area before they continue their higher study. In my opinion, I do believe that students who have had real world experiences give more significant contributions to their class and get more benefits from the study, than those who directly continue their further study.

[ Written by - Darwin Lesmana ]

Sample Answer 2:
The order and pattern of students' education are always a matter of discussion and debate all over the world. Though few people support direct continuing education from school to the university, I strongly hold the view that the part-time jobs and expedition journeys, after the schooling, positively contribute to the university education to a great extent.

One of the obvious reasons is that part time job assists to resolve financial issues of university education. To be more precise, the cost of higher education, which is a tough nut to crack for many students can be resolved to some extent by the wages and salaries of job settings. In Europe and America, students enjoy sabbatical leave and make their graduation and post-graduation study as a piece of cake is the best epitome.

Another reason to support my view is that the travelling helps immensely to discover the incredible world. In other words, students can get more practical knowledge which is necessary to get academic excellence not only in History and Biological sciences but also in all other subjects. Actions speak louder than words. Practical experience is completely different from bookish knowledge, acquired by long journeys, positively influences for academic improvement and to tackle complex issues of future life episodes of the students. Moreover, this is an excellent opportunity to pupils to understand the life is not just a cake walk.

Ironically, an army of people claims that this order of education is a waste of time. Students need to get graduation as early as possible to serve society. Perhaps it may be true but we cannot deny that Rome was not built in a day. Necessary time consumption is an integral part of excellent education.

To crown it all, both travelling and have some work experience, especially before university term, positively contribute to personal and economic aspects of the student life and personal life.

[ Written by - Snoopa Pap ]

Sample Answer 3:
Higher education is the precursor to success in today's competitive world. Thus, every individual want to have a professional degree after schooling. After higher secondary, whether one should directly go to a university, or he/she should take a break before higher education, has always sparked a highly intense debate. In my opinion, a break is very much important for professional growth, at the same time it also helps in increasing focus at studies.

Firstly, it is very apparent that in order to reduce training cost, companies nowadays prefer skilled professional rather than a mere fresher. Thus, break in studies and investing the same time for gaining a relevant experience, will make the students prepared for the professional challenges. For instance, the Indian IT giant "Infosys", which annually fire almost 20% of fresher hired by them. This number can be highly reduced if the employees are already trained for the job. Hence, it can be easily stated that the gap-year taken by students, when invested for proper training, will help them in future.

Moreover, after 12-14 years of rigorous studying, a gap-year would act as a refresher for the students. They can plan their future studies in the meantime. Talking about my personal experience; my elder brother after his 12th standard in science, was fully prepared to have an honours degree in Mathematics, as Math was the subject which had always excited him. But, after having one-year training in an IT company, he realised the scope in IT field. The professional growth in IT was exponential as compared to a linear growth in the field of Math. Thus, after rejoining his studies he went for an Engineering degree in "Computer Science", which catalysed his career growth. Today, he is well settled, and is drawing a handsome salary! Now, after stating this we can easily say that the gap-year can work wonders, with respect to the decision making of a student.

After analysing the above points, we are in a position to safely conclude that, gap-year is something which every student should opt for. This will be helpful in terms of their professional growth and plans for their future. It is also believed that in the coming future, more and more students will take a break from studies before joining the university and will invest that gap for getting themselves trained.

[ Written by - Sid Gupta ]

Sample Answer 4:
Experience is the best teacher, so goes an age old saying. Experience earned from work or from a foreign travel is a valuable asset to own, for a person. I strongly believe that a student who does not have work experience after school and has completed university reaps less benefit in the real world compared to the student who does.
Today the corporates are not only seeking a graduation or post-graduation degree in their employees but also seeking relevant work experience to go with it. When an organisation hires an experienced ‘market ready’ professional, it saves a lot of time and money in training the employee. Thus, often during a recruitment drive, candidates who have no prior work experience end up as also-rans.

Based on the work experience after school, a student can choose the domain of specialisation in which he wants to attend the university. On the contrary, a student entering the university directly after school generally tends to go with the herd while choosing the courses or domain at the university. A few months in the course, the student may not find it interesting but has no option to go back. In fact, the student may be compelled to find a job and pursue a career in the same field which may lead to the student not enjoying the work he does.

A student who has earned and saved money after school can pay a portion of his fees on his own and has to take a lesser student loan for paying the university fees. On the other hand, a student directly entering university after school has paid the entire fees from the student loan. The student loan is a menace. According to a survey 8 to 10% of people in the USA repay student loans even at the age of 60.

In conclusion, considering the above points, I can say with conviction that it is better to work for a few years and then enter a university than to directly attend university after school. Apart from the monetary benefits, this approach also has benefits like individual growth and development.

[ Written by - Ripal Vyas ]

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