Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-06

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)

Every university's undergraduate programs should contain an amount of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement. I agree with the same because the advantages like global exposure and better education system outweigh the disadvantages like cost of studying abroad and workload.

The viable disadvantages of the same is the cost. In addition the cost of studying abroad is double than the cost of studying in the home country and families with less financial capability will not be able to do that. The other reason is workload. In addition, students studying abroad have to cook and do all chores by themselves whereas in home country it is been usually been performed by the parents.

The viable advantages of the same is global exposure. In addition, studying abroad provides a better idea of international markets and foreign systems which can help us to create great business ideas and better systems for our own countries. The other reason is better education. In addition a better education system helps one to evaluate it's understanding and knowledge. Studying in top rank universities with best teachers helps students to get better education. Also, the importance of the student who have studied in the international country is more than the local student.

In conclusion, the global exposure and better education which are the advantages outweigh the cost and workload like disadvantages

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear overall view that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and you address both sides by mentioning cost and workload alongside international exposure and education. However, the response addresses the task only partially because the ideas are brief and largely asserted rather than explained with specific examples. For instance, you say international experience can lead to “great business ideas,” but do not show how this might happen; the point about students’ greater importance is also unclear. The response contains 216 words, below the required 250, and the 10 words copied from the prompt are not counted. Develop each main point with explanation or an example, and make the comparison of advantages and disadvantages more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on disadvantages, one on advantages, and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow the broad direction of your argument. However, progression within the paragraphs is limited, and linking is repetitive and sometimes mechanical. “In addition” appears several times, while “The other reason” introduces points without showing clearly how they relate to the main claim. The conclusion repeats the introduction rather than drawing together the reasoning. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main point, then connect explanation and example with a wider range of clear references. This would make the argument’s development easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “global exposure,” “international markets,” “financial capability,” and “workload,” so the reader can understand the main ideas. However, the range is limited and several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, which makes parts of the response less clear. For example, “viable disadvantages” is not an appropriate collocation here, and “the importance of the student” does not clearly express the intended idea. “Better education system” is also repeated rather than varied or made more precise. Aim for natural academic collocations and choose words that state your meaning exactly; for example, explain whether international graduates have better employment prospects or greater recognition.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences, including the explanation that studying abroad can provide knowledge of international markets and foreign systems. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or unclear. Examples include “The viable disadvantages … is,” where the subject and verb do not agree, and “it is been usually been performed,” which has an incorrect verb construction. There are also problems with articles and possessives, as in “evaluate it's understanding,” and with the plural construction “the student who have studied.” Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, verb forms, and possessive forms, then check each sentence for a clear grammatical structure.

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