Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-14

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)

A life experience and practical exposure is very necessary for the knowledge and groth of students. Some people believe that all the university undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement. This essay will talk about how its advantages would outweigh the disadvantages.

The idea of studying abroad is really significant as the students will get a chance to meet diferent people with different religions, culture and beliefs. It will help them to enhance their public dealing skills and learn how to surround in a totally different environment. There are several benefits of international education as worldwide opportunities are provided to the students and also help in work placements.

Having a work placement is also a very beneicial initiative as people will get to know how the theoretical knowledge is applied on practical skills. Along with it, a number of companies prefer to recruit more experienced employees rather than freshers. For example, a man having an experience of 3 years would be employed easily than that of unexperienced.

Some of the disadvantages of this approach can be the heavy expenses that are necessary to study abroad. The public of low income levels may struggle to pay the expenses but this problem can be solved by universities providing schlarships. The second concern can be people who are not able to focus on their studies because of homesickness.

In conclusion, i totally believe that the advantages of this outweigh its disadvantages as it is a very beneficial deal for all students. They can get a proper practical exposure to their workplace and also get good quality education along with experiences.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both the benefits and drawbacks and make your position clear in the introduction and conclusion: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant points include cultural exposure, practical application of theory, employment prospects, costs and homesickness. However, some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, the claim that studying abroad improves “public dealing skills” and creates “worldwide opportunities” would be stronger with a clear explanation or example. The work-placement paragraph gives a relevant employment comparison, but it does not explain how placements benefit students across different courses. The response therefore covers the task, though some aspects are developed more fully than others. To strengthen it, explain the effects of each main point and connect them directly to the overall comparison of advantages and disadvantages.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for study abroad, work placements and disadvantages, followed by a conclusion. This makes the main points easy to locate. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes loose, and some links feel mechanical. For example, “Along with it” introduces the employment point without clearly showing how it follows from practical learning, while “The second concern” lists homesickness but does not develop its relationship to the first drawback. The phrase “There are several benefits” also leads into broad claims without a clear sequence. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s central idea, then develop it with explanation and an example. More precise referencing and transitions would make the argument flow more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to education and employment, including “theoretical knowledge,” “practical skills,” “experienced employees” and “homesickness.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “international education” and “low income levels.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision: “public dealing skills,” “how to surround in a totally different environment,” and “a beneficial deal” do not express the intended ideas naturally. Spelling errors such as “groth,” “diferent,” “beneicial” and “schlarships” also reduce control. Aim for accurate, natural combinations rather than more elaborate phrasing—for example, “interpersonal skills,” “adapt to a different environment” and “a valuable opportunity.” Proofreading would help remove avoidable spelling slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “companies prefer to recruit more experienced employees rather than freshers” and a concession in “The public of low income levels may struggle to pay the expenses but this problem can be solved…”. Meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. In the opening, “A life experience and practical exposure is” has a mismatch between the compound subject and verb; “how its advantages would outweigh” also uses an unclear reference. The sentence about students learning “how to surround in” has an incomplete grammatical pattern, and “a man having an experience of 3 years would be employed easily than that of unexperienced” is awkwardly constructed. Check agreement, articles and comparative structures, and revise sentences whose subjects or references are unclear.

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