Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-26

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)

Some people argue that professionals should remain in the same country and work, where they did their training. While other individuals believe they should be free to choose and work. In my view, retaining professionals to work in the same country can be beneficial for the country having skilled workers. However, professionals should be free if they wish to work overseas.

On the one hand, It is beneficial for the home country if they retain skilled professionals specially doctors and engineers as government subsidies education in various countries. As a result, it will also benefit the country economical growth and having skilled doctors will also benefits in healthcare sector. To quote an example, if skilled doctors retain and work, it will benefit the country's health sector having more skilled professionals, which will also boost the growth of healthcare systems in the hospitals.

On the other hand, professionals should have freedom and right to choose where they want to live and work. It is an economical right. As a result, It will boost their country's economic growth and they will get more skilled workers. Professionals will also have benefit of having good salaries, more opportunities and flexible working hours. To give an example, if skilled doctors work in their country this will benefit their country's healthcare system and skilled professionals can also get more opportunities travelling overseas.

In my opinion, skilled workers should be allowed to travel and work according to their choice. This will help them to explore and practice more to gain knowledge by travelling oevrseas, which will increase their career growth.

In conclusion, professionals should be allowed to work for a reasonable time period and can be charged some lumpsum amount to be paid to the government if they want to leave and work overseas, so that it will also help the country to sustain.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and state a clear preference for professionals to choose where they work, so the main parts of the prompt are addressed. The point that governments subsidise training and benefit from retaining skilled workers is relevant, but its explanation is repetitive: the healthcare benefit is restated without showing how this supports requiring graduates to stay. The opposing view is also presented, yet the claim that overseas work will bring the country “more skilled workers” is unclear and conflicts with the example, which focuses on doctors working at home. Your conclusion proposes a repayment arrangement, but this new condition is not explained or reconciled with your stated support for freedom of choice. Develop each side with clearer reasoning and examples that directly support it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for each view, your opinion, and a conclusion. This makes the overall arrangement coherent. Linking phrases such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, with repeated “As a result” and “To give an example” constructions. Some connections are also unclear: the second body paragraph moves from professionals’ freedom to economic growth and then to salaries without explaining the links, while its example shifts back to doctors working in their home country. The conclusion’s proposed payment is not prepared for earlier. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example explicitly to the claim it supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “professionals,” “government subsidies,” “skilled workers,” “healthcare sector,” and “opportunities,” which allows you to discuss the subject. However, the range is limited and several phrases are repeated, particularly “skilled professionals” and “benefit.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “country economical growth,” “retain skilled professionals,” and “charged some lumpsum amount.” There is also a spelling error in “oevrseas.” These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding the general argument, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Build a wider set of accurate expressions for migration, public investment, and professional development, and check spelling and word forms during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, using clauses such as “if they wish to work overseas” and “which will increase their career growth.” The overall meaning is usually understandable, but errors occur in sentence boundaries, agreement, articles, and verb forms. For example, “While other individuals believe they should be free to choose and work” is a fragment, and “having skilled doctors will also benefits” has incorrect subject–verb agreement. In “government subsidies education,” the verb form is missing, while “It is beneficial for the home country if they retain” has an unclear pronoun reference. Capitalisation after commas is also inconsistent. Practise complete sentences and check agreement and verb forms, while retaining your attempts at subordinate clauses.

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