In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay demonstrates a clear understanding of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of taking a gap year. Key strengths include a coherent structure with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, critical areas for improvement include grammatical accuracy, vocabulary usage, and the depth of examples provided. The structural changes made include correcting grammatical errors, improving vocabulary, and enhancing transitions between ideas. Suggestions for further improvements not implemented in the corrected version include providing more specific examples of how work experience or travel can impact future studies or careers, as well as varying sentence structures to demonstrate a wider range of grammatical skills. The tone used is appropriate for an academic essay, maintaining a formal and objective style throughout.
Detailed Scores
What this means:
The essay is generally coherent, with a clear structure that includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices could be improved. For instance, transitions between ideas could be smoother, and the phrase 'this will widen their knowledge' could be better connected to the previous sentence. Using more varied linking words would enhance the flow.
How to improve:
- Use a clear paragraph structure
- Connect ideas with appropriate linking words
- Maintain logical progression
- Use referencing effectively
What this means:
The essay contains numerous grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('they can learn some skills which is useful'), incorrect plural forms ('peoples'), and awkward sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, these errors detract from the overall quality. To improve, the writer should focus on grammatical accuracy and vary sentence structures to demonstrate a wider range.
How to improve:
- Use complex sentence structures
- Maintain grammatical accuracy
- Use a variety of sentence patterns
- Check for common grammar errors
What this means:
The vocabulary used is adequate but contains several errors and repetitions, such as 'young peoples' instead of 'young people' and 'sallary' instead of 'salary.' There are also instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'discuss about this.' To improve, the writer should aim to use a wider range of vocabulary and ensure accuracy in word choice.
How to improve:
- Use a wider range of vocabulary
- Demonstrate awareness of collocations
- Avoid word repetition
- Use more sophisticated vocabulary accurately
What this means:
The essay addresses the task by discussing both advantages and disadvantages of taking a gap year. However, it lacks depth in some areas, such as providing more specific examples or elaborating on the points made. To improve, the writer could include more detailed examples of how work experience or travel can impact future studies or careers.
How to improve:
- Address all parts of the task fully
- Support ideas with specific examples
- Develop each point thoroughly
- Stay relevant to the topic
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