Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-06

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 4.5)

So to be very honest i thinks its gery important to all the university undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent on studing abroad as well as doing a work placement beacuse its very important for an adult to be independent specially financially so at that age of being an undergraduate student work placement option from universities would be better in case they can’t support their tutuion fee then its a plus point for them ..And for the international students this should be happen because living in an other country for bright future and living on your expenses ,managing accommodation expensive,food expenses,transport expenses and then meal it would be a headache for the international student whose parents are not that much financially good so doing work with study will give them enough ro cover their tution feeeses ,rents and meals.They will also get a experience from the work and will help them to groom and doing money maintenance and their family back in their hometown will be less worried about their child . But is there are advantages of this there are also disadvantages of providing study time and work placement because then a person with not good grades ended up being more screwed then the others becaue their main purpose for what they came abroad is study if they will be less worrried and take study for granted they can’t score good and they can’t ecen focus on their study like they can without work placement which is not good

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is limited and somewhat repetitive. The argument regarding financial independence is clear, but the counter-argument about academic performance is underdeveloped and lacks specific examples or a nuanced conclusion. The response is written as a single, long paragraph, which makes it difficult to follow the progression of the argument. To reach a higher band, you should structure your essay into clear paragraphs (introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion) and ensure that each point is fully extended with logical reasoning rather than just stating the same idea multiple times.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The essay lacks paragraphing, which is a fundamental requirement for a coherent response. The text is essentially one long run-on sentence structure, making it difficult for the reader to identify where one idea ends and another begins. There is a lack of cohesive devices; the transition between the advantages and disadvantages is abrupt, using only a simple 'But'. To improve, you must use clear paragraph breaks and a wider range of linking words and phrases (e.g., 'Furthermore', 'Conversely', 'In addition', 'Consequently') to guide the reader through your argument logically.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite basic and repetitive, relying on informal language such as 'headache', 'screwed', and 'plus point'. There are several instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'doing money maintenance' and 'financially good'. The range of vocabulary is limited, and the errors in word formation (e.g., 'tutuion', 'ecen') occasionally impede the flow of reading. To improve, you should focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to education and finance, while avoiding informal or slang expressions that are inappropriate for an academic essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The grammar is significantly flawed. The essay consists of very few sentences, many of which are run-on sentences lacking proper punctuation. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'i thinks its gery important'), article usage, and sentence structure. The lack of full stops and commas makes the text difficult to parse. You need to focus on writing shorter, grammatically correct sentences and mastering basic punctuation. Incorporating a variety of complex sentence structures is necessary for higher bands, but accuracy must be established first.

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

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