Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-07

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that professionals, such as doctors and engineers, should be required to work in the country where they did their training. Others believe they should be free to work in another country if they wish.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

It has been believed that professionals, such as doctors and engineers, must serve in the country where they accomplished their training and education while others are of the opinion that they should work on thier own free will.

Firstly, some people reason that these professionals must serve their own country. They are of the believe that they should give all of their efforts to the country where they have completed their education. These individuals argue that these professionals first complete the needs of their own country rather than pursuing for a foreign region. Meanwhile, these days many trained and well skilled people are leaving their own country for the sake of money. To illustrate this, skilled youth is leaving their country which is producing a shortage of skilled individuals in many departments.

On the other hand, open-minded people are of the fact that they should be working according to their own will. As any person who studies makes an investment on himself. It is his right to serve where he gets a good opportunity and it is his right as well. Furthermore, mostly peers look for a good job after completing their degree so it is their right to go ahead for their own bright future. For instance, students working in foreign countries are opened to advance equipment and gain alot of experience which helps their own country.

I am of the opinion that every professional must have their own free will to work where they want. Because it will help them to grow and work even harder.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the discussion and state a clear opinion in the final paragraph: professionals should be free to choose where they work. The points about shortages in the country that trained them and the benefits of gaining experience abroad are relevant. However, the discussion is only partly developed. For example, you mention that skilled workers leave “for the sake of money” but do not explain the wider consequences or how requiring them to stay might be fair. The point that overseas experience can help their home country also needs a clearer explanation or example. Develop each view with a specific reason and show how it supports your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph for each view, and a concluding opinion. “Firstly” and “On the other hand” help signal the change in viewpoint, so the reader can follow the broad organisation. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and several ideas are joined without showing their precise relationship. For instance, the claim that professionals should serve their country is followed by the point that people leave for money, but the link between these ideas could be made explicit. The final paragraph is very brief and does not draw together the discussion. Use clearer topic sentences, connect each example directly to its claim, and add a more developed conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “professionals,” “shortage,” “opportunity,” and “experience,” and you attempt some less common expressions such as “bright future.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, which makes some points less precise. Examples include “complete the needs of their own country,” “pursuing for a foreign region,” and “opened to advance equipment.” There are also spelling and form errors, such as “thier” and “alot.” Aim for more natural academic phrasing and check spelling carefully. More precise terms for migration, public investment in training, and career development would help you express the arguments clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “the country where they have completed their education” and a conditional-style explanation of the benefits of working abroad. However, control is inconsistent, and some sentence structures are faulty or incomplete. “As any person who studies makes an investment on himself” is a fragment, while “Because it will help them to grow” is also an incomplete sentence when used after a full stop. Other examples include “they should be working according to their own will,” where the verb form is awkward, and “students working in foreign countries are opened to…,” where the construction is not grammatical. Practise complete sentences and review agreement, verb patterns, and punctuation.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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