TASK 2: THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TAKING A GAP YEAR

Some students prefer to take a year off between school and university, to work or to travel. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

It is true that a lot of high school graduates are likely to take a gap year before starting university life. While there are some advantages for this rising trend, disadvantages do exist.

It is beneficial for students either to do an internship, travel, or get into the workforce during their gap year. Firstly, students traveling overseas can obtain golden opportunities to understand cultural diversity and expand knowledge about the world, which normally they cannot find in their textbooks. Secondly, living independently and encountering difficulties on their own could certainly help them grow up. As a result, they may have maturity and autonomy to handle the complexity both in their social and academic lives.

Additionally, high school leavers could take advantage of getting a job to broaden their work skills, which is eventually useful for their resumes . Finally, taking a year off may give individuals some time to consider important decisions on their university goals and future occupations.

However, there are a few disadvantages. To begin with, if a gap year student does not have a clear organized plan, he can waste time and money. For example, those who are couch potatoes or solely want to party may possibly fall further behind their peers. Besides, students may run out of money and end up in debt because gap year trips can be extremely expensive. In addition, they can feel depressed when it takes a long period of time for revising due to the loss of academic knowledge over one gap year.

In conclusion, I believe that the benefits of a gap year far outweigh the drawbacks, and students should take one year off because of countless opportunities which they can have to experience the real world as well as themselves and find motivation to succeed in college. (298 words)

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