Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Undeniably, education play significant role for career growth and development in human life. There are some people who think that all the higher-educational institution undergraduate programs should be including a specific time to spent studying in international countries and doing a practical training i strongly believe that disadvantaged far outweigh the advantages because of high costs and not needed for every subject. i would like to explain my views in further paragraphs.

To begin with, there are several causes why it detrimental impact on students life. The first predominant one reason is , studying abroad and living for work placement can be unaffordable for every student. it create financial burden among learners because of lots of colleges have higher fee for programs, every middle class family are not able to fulfill those fees. it has adverse impact on their mental health if they going abroad for their studies. Apart from this, it also create inequality towards students due to some rich people are able to study in international countries to make their career and for good lifestyle but it has directly impact and creating presssure on middle classes families which are not even able to afford those budget .Moreover, students should have live far away from their families an friends which is very hard for them. because studying in abroad is more challenging due to students have to take care of themself as well they have to pay for living and food as well as lots of other necessary things which are really very major students have to take care of it. studying in abroad does not mean that students only do study however, they have to proper compromise with their life. For examples, lots of students who are studying in international countries with different college they have to doing jobs with their studies because they parents are able to afford those fees. many students faces hardships during living those countries.

On the other hand, there few reason why it has benefit for practical and culture awareness, The first and foremost reason is, studying in abroad students gain real-world experience and helps them to build international networks or job-ready skills. because they can connect with more and more people into their day to day life which will be helpful for them to make a strong good connection with them. not only this but this is also good for understanding their culture and ethics or morals of different countries. it will give students free power to grab knowledge and learn lots of things from abroad which would be helpful for their career and for their own growth. they can easily polish their skills by learning in abroad.

In conclusion, education is power to make people future bright and it give fruitful results in upcoming life. i think that studying in international nations make people life more hard to consume lots of time whereas, there benefits of learning and gaining valuable experience are also not denied.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all parts of the prompt and maintained a clear position throughout. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat repetitive. For instance, you mention financial burdens and the difficulty of living away from home multiple times in the second paragraph without adding new depth. While you acknowledge the benefits in the third paragraph, the argument could be more balanced by exploring why these benefits might not outweigh the costs in a more nuanced way. To reach a higher band, ensure each paragraph introduces a distinct, well-supported point rather than restating the same concerns.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices like 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or inaccurate, such as 'The first predominant one reason is ,'. Additionally, there are instances where the flow between sentences is disjointed, particularly in the second paragraph where the transition between financial issues and mental health is abrupt. Improving the variety and precision of your linking words would enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'make people life more hard' and 'good lifestyle'. There are also several word-choice errors, such as 'not needed for every subject' (should be 'not necessary for every subject') and 'free power to grab knowledge'. While your meaning is usually clear, the lack of sophisticated collocations and the repetition of simple words limit your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the essay, including subject-verb agreement ('education play', 'every middle class family are'), article usage ('in international countries'), and sentence structure ('because of lots of colleges have higher fee'). You attempt some complex sentences, but they often contain errors that distract the reader. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with misplaced commas and missing capitalization at the start of sentences. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like pluralization and verb tense consistency.

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

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