Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
Some people believe that university should need to spend some in studying abroad or gaining work experience through a work placement. Although this create some difficulties butt, i believe the advantage outage the disadvantages because it improve student skills, financial support, future opportunity.
The main advantage of spend time to studying abroad is it give confidence to students. I think there is many lack of confidence in most of the students. Furthermore, it will also help students to deal with clients in professional career. For Example I am working in software house client satisfaction in project is very important things. More ever, there is also need for student to work in work placement because it make the skills of students. Nowadays skill is very important for all the students. For Example in my field after education when student find job the organization first ask about skills.
There is also disadvantages of this because every student does not financially able to studying in abroad because every student is not financially stable. For Example in my university including me not able to afford to studying in abroad that's why i think this not easy for all students to study in abroad. Government need to make a different scholarship for students that have good performance in university,
In Conclusion, university should include period of time to studying abroad because it better confidence, communication skills, learning, etc. Students also need to work during study in work placement because after study they haven't any skills to work in organization
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of mandatory study abroad or work placements. However, the development of ideas is limited. While you mention confidence and skill acquisition, the arguments are somewhat repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the point about 'client satisfaction' is a good start but is not fully linked to the broader academic context. The position is clear, but the supporting arguments could be more thoroughly extended to meet the requirements for a higher band. The conclusion is a bit brief and simply restates the introduction rather than synthesizing the arguments presented.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the use of 'butt' (instead of 'but') and 'More ever' (instead of 'Moreover') disrupts the flow. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the third paragraph where the transition between the disadvantage and the government's role is abrupt. While there is a logical progression from advantages to disadvantages, the connections between sentences are often weak, making the overall cohesion feel somewhat disjointed.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'good', 'important', and 'things'. There are also several word-choice errors, such as 'outage' instead of 'outweigh' and 'make the skills' instead of 'develop the skills'. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety and the presence of collocation errors limit the score. To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to education and professional development.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'every student does not financially able'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'spend some in studying'), and punctuation errors. The misuse of 'butt' and the run-on sentences in the conclusion indicate a need for better control over sentence boundaries. While the meaning is usually discernible, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the essay from reaching a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.