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)

All the university undergraduate courses should make it include a time period to spend studying abroad or doing a work placement. I strongly agree, that the advantages of this would outweigh the disadvantages.

Undergraduate is the level of study that encourage students to learn from different sources including lectures, seminar, presentation, outdoor activities, participating in different curricular activities due to their unbeatable energy. If we give the chance to the deserving students on the merit bases to grab a chance to study or do work placemnet abroad thrugh a n exchange program, they will be able to flourish in their feild. Whereas, they will be able to network around internationally rather than doing thing on a certain area at national level and get a chance to work with the international talent.

The other advantage of exchange program is the students can bring the talet they have learned or experienced back to their country and train others as well with the specific skills they earned abroad. So the host country will be able to have global talent and advanced their aproaches to get fit in the current advancement stream.

It give a huge impact on economy as well when these stdents went abroad and start to earn money they usually send their money back to their host countries which empovered the economy as well. for example if a pakistani student went to europe it will make him to send earned money back to his country in Euros which intun be benificial for the coutrie's economy to stand in the global market.

However, these advantages overweigh the disadvantages of the semester exchange program and make student and host country both being benefical for each other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear position in the opening, stating that you “strongly agree” the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and you present relevant benefits: international networking, bringing skills back home, and possible economic gains. However, the discussion only partly answers the comparison in the question. The disadvantages are not explained, and the claim about students sending earnings home is not clearly connected to a required study or placement period. Several points are asserted rather than developed; for example, explain how international experience improves students’ career prospects, ideally with a specific example. The response therefore has relevant ideas and a discernible view, but the argument is limited and some support is unclear. The length requirement is met; eight words copied from the task prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, paragraphs presenting advantages, and a concluding statement. The sequence from student development to skills transfer and economic effects is generally understandable. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several claims are crowded together, and links between them are not fully explained. For instance, the move from students gaining international experience to the host country gaining global talent is unclear, as is the connection between placements and remittances. Linking expressions such as “Whereas” and “However” do not always express the intended relationship; “Whereas” introduces no clear contrast, while the conclusion’s “However” conflicts with the preceding argument. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example directly to the point it supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “exchange program,” “network,” “international talent,” “specific skills,” and “global market.” These choices show some effort to discuss education and employment beyond very basic terms. However, the range is limited and errors in spelling, word form, and collocation are frequent enough to make parts of the response less clear. Examples include “placemnet,” “th्रugh” (intended as “through”), “flourish in their feild,” “advanced their aproaches,” and “benefical.” Some phrases are also imprecise, such as “stand in the global market” and “doing thing on a certain area.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations and check spelling carefully; more precise terms would help explain the benefits rather than relying on broad claims about talent and the economy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including a conditional idea about students returning with skills and a sentence beginning “when these students went abroad.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “All the university undergraduate courses should make it include” has an unclear construction, while “Undergraduate is the level of study that encourage” has problems with the subject and verb. There are also errors in articles, agreement, and tense, as in “the students can bring” after a singular subject and “when these students went abroad and start to earn.” Practise building one clear main clause at a time, then add subordinate clauses with consistent tense and agreement.

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

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