Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-17

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 education institutes change their curriculum for undergraduate in that way which indulge a small period of time of internship in abroad or in local companies. This can help to students to develop their skills and exposure of the market at young age. In my opinion, the benefits of this would outweigh the drawbacks. In following essay, i will discuss both.

To begin with, the advantages includes such, students get exposure of different culture at foreign country. Moreover, many nations such as US, Canada and UK have distingue education system. They use advance level of laboratories instruments, provide industrial training while study. In addition, their education is based on practical rather than theoretical, which help to student to improve their skills. Furthermore, if undergraduate children do internship in local organization, they might be get idea about local market and they can develop some practical skill over their. Furthermore, after graduation if they got placement in MNC like Amazon, Jio or Google, they might be not face ant dilemmas in beginning.

On the other hand, disadvantages such as, abroad education is quite expensive, which create some financial pressure on parents. For example, some parents use their life time saving for their child education in foreign countries like US and UK. Moreover, the accommodation and other amenities are quite expensive as well. Furthermore, if student do internship during their under graduation, they might be not have enough time for study which impact adversely on their academic.

In conclusion, spending small time of period in studying abroad it might be expensive but this helps to students to improve knowledge and develop skill. Moreover, internship help to learn practical knowledge but student can comp

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages, and a clear position is maintained throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention benefits like cultural exposure and practical skills, the explanations are brief and rely on lists rather than deep analysis. The conclusion is incomplete, which prevents a full summary of your position. To reach a higher band, ensure that each main point is supported by a more detailed explanation or a specific, well-integrated example. The current structure is clear, but the depth of argument needs to be expanded to fully satisfy the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'On the other hand' to link your points. However, some of these transitions are used mechanically, and there are instances where the flow is slightly disrupted by grammatical errors. Referencing is generally clear, but the abrupt ending of the essay negatively impacts the overall coherence. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that your concluding paragraph is fully developed to provide a sense of closure to your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'curriculum', 'industrial training', and 'MNC'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choices and inaccuracies, such as 'distingue education system' (distinctive) and 'might be not face ant dilemmas' (any). Some phrases are repetitive, and the range of vocabulary is somewhat limited. To achieve a higher score, work on using more precise collocations and ensure that you are using academic vocabulary correctly in context rather than relying on simpler, sometimes incorrect, phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'advantages includes'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'might be not have'), and missing articles or prepositions. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, particularly the use of modal verbs and pluralization. Proofreading for common errors like 'student' vs 'students' and ensuring consistent verb tense usage will significantly enhance the accuracy of your writing.

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

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