Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

All university undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement.

Do you think the advantages of this would outweigh the disadvantages?

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

Student answer (Band 4.0)

As university undergraduate courses are more practical nowdays, it is believed that they should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement, i agree with the statement as it will provide students with practical experience, exposure to different educational environments and valuable teamwork skills.

The advantages of student studying in abroad is that they get to learn advance education in abroad along with people from different parts of world that helps them to understand their cultures

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response gives a clear initial position: “i agree with the statement,” and identifies relevant potential benefits, including practical experience, exposure to different educational environments, and teamwork skills. However, it does not develop these points or explain how they outweigh any disadvantages. The second paragraph begins to discuss learning and cultural exposure but ends without a complete explanation, and no disadvantages or examples are considered. The response is also substantially below the required 250 words: it contains 67 words, with 14 words copied from the prompt excluded from that count. To address the task more fully, explain both sides, support each main point with reasons or examples, and reach a clear conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic overall direction: an opening states the writer’s view, followed by a paragraph introducing one advantage. The ideas are relevant to the topic, and the opening lists several points that could provide a structure for a fuller essay. At present, however, the response is too brief to show sustained progression, and the second paragraph stops before completing its explanation. The relationship between the listed benefits and the later discussion is not developed, while there is no paragraph addressing disadvantages or concluding the argument. Build a clear sequence of paragraphs—position, developed advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion—and use linking expressions to show how each idea relates to the question.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “practical experience,” “educational environments,” “teamwork skills,” and “cultures.” These phrases show an ability to express the general subject, but the range is limited because the response is very short, and several choices or forms are inaccurate. For example, “nowdays” is misspelled, “advance education” is not the natural phrase for this meaning, and “people from different parts of world” needs more precise phrasing. Aim for accurate collocations such as “advanced educational opportunities” or “students from around the world.” Developing the essay with more specific vocabulary about placements, academic exchange, costs, and adaptation would demonstrate greater range and precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts both a complex opening sentence and a relative clause, as in “people from different parts of world that helps them to understand their cultures.” This shows some willingness to connect ideas, but control is uneven. The opening joins a long series of clauses with a comma, and the final sentence has an unclear relative-clause reference: “that helps” does not clearly agree with the intended subject. Other examples include “student studying” and “they get,” where the subject forms do not align, and “in abroad,” where the preposition pattern is incorrect. Capitalisation of “i” is also inconsistent. Use shorter, clearly punctuated sentences while checking agreement, articles, and clause references; then add varied structures once these are reliable.

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

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