Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In past decays, this issue has gained a lot of attention. indiviuals have different oppenions regarding this debate. Some people bekieve that pupils ought to spend some time in workplacement or studying abroad while other think that first they complete their degree before doing anything. This essay will discuss both point of views brfore reaching a proper a conclusion.

Studying abroad may assist undergraduates in developing social skills. Although abroad education has a profound effact on learners brain and activities, also teaches them hoe to relay on their self. Working placement is also beneficial for students, it makes them independent and make them finantially free. thry do not need to ask their parents for money. The most pivotal thing is that, students may experience practial life and unforgetable experience.

Studying abeoad is advantageous but, it also have some disadvatages like distractions students may face in other countries. In some cases it is detrimental as pupils have to face alonliness . Altough negative points are not too much but, stress is unignorable.Working during studies is benefical but some times it leads to the faliure of undergraduates,they have to manage their work along with their studies which is a dufficult task for some learners. If they are not able to manage studies with their work they should focus only on studies

To conclusion, this issue has contain both advantages as well as disadvantages, i believe that its advatages outweight the negative effect of it. if pupil is able to manage work along with the studies they should work .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the central question and state a clear preference in the conclusion: the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant benefits include developing social skills, becoming independent, and gaining practical experience; you also identify loneliness, distraction, and difficulty balancing work with study as drawbacks. However, the discussion is only partly developed. For example, the claims about social skills and financial independence are not supported with a specific explanation or example, and the disadvantages are listed more than explored. The opening suggests you will discuss both viewpoints, but the essay does not clearly explain why students might prefer completing their degree first. Develop each main point with a reason or example, and make the comparison between benefits and drawbacks more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on drawbacks, and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow the broad direction of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and several ideas are joined mechanically or with awkward contrast markers. For instance, “Studying abroad is advantageous but, it also have some disadvantages” shifts abruptly, while the final paragraph repeats the position without drawing together the main reasons. Some references, such as “it” in the conclusion, are not fully clear. Use topic sentences to signal each paragraph’s purpose, connect each claim to its explanation, and use linking expressions only where the relationship between ideas is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “social skills,” “independent,” “financially free,” “detrimental,” and “manage.” These choices show some awareness of academic discussion, but the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, sometimes making the reader pause. Examples include “decays” for “decades,” “workplacement,” “alonliness,” and “unforgetable.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “experience practical life” and “the negative effect of it.” Build accuracy by checking spelling and learning common collocations, such as “gain practical experience” and “cope with loneliness.” Aim to express ideas precisely rather than relying on broad terms such as “thing” or repeating “beneficial.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple sentences and some attempts at more complex structures, including “Although abroad education has a profound effect…” and the conditional “If they are not able to manage studies with their work…”. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and frequent errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence boundaries affect clarity. For example, “Working placement … makes them independent and make them” has inconsistent agreement, while “it also have some disadvantages” has an incorrect verb form. The sentence beginning “Although” is incomplete because its clauses are not joined correctly. There are also run-on sentences and inconsistent capitalisation. Practise building complete sentences with one clear main clause, then check subject–verb agreement and punctuation.

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