Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-18

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)

Some people argue that all university undergraduate courses and subject should include a period of time where they spend studying abroad or doing a work placement so they gain extra knowledge and practical skills. I believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages because this help children in problem-solving growth and communication skills.

In university where several children study multiple course like technology, medical and management. However, university should include a particular time when they go to other country for studying. This help in accelerating in experience and communication. If they go and study in new atmosphere can encourage them to try new things. This can lead to cultural exposure and inter-connection. As children meet new people and talk with them can be really helpful in future.

The university should offer the scholarship or sponsorship to the students so they can afford to go to another country. Working in other place also also help you to work efficiently and conveniently. This can help you to help how to deal to others and increase in problem-solving skills. Working can help student to learn sense of responsibility. This encourage them to use resources and money more affectively. For example, in foreign university student has to work part time.

In conclusion, this can help student in both mentally and physically growth so they get experience. Nevertheless this can be burden for many student as they can get burn out. Working with other student can help working in team and create the cultural exchange and understanding.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by expressing a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is limited. While you mention benefits like 'problem-solving' and 'cultural exposure,' these points are not fully extended or supported with specific, logical examples. The term 'children' is used repeatedly to refer to university students, which is inappropriate for an academic context. Furthermore, the argument regarding scholarships and part-time work is somewhat disjointed and does not directly address the core issue of whether such a requirement should be mandatory for all courses. To improve, focus on providing more detailed explanations for your arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the flow between sentences is often mechanical and sometimes confusing. For instance, the transition 'In university where several children study...' is grammatically incomplete and lacks a clear link to the previous paragraph. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often repetitive or misused, such as the frequent use of 'This' to start sentences without clear reference to the preceding idea. The logical progression of ideas is hindered by these issues, making the argument feel somewhat fragmented.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The range of vocabulary is limited and often repetitive. You frequently use basic terms like 'help,' 'study,' and 'work.' There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'accelerating in experience' and 'deal to others,' which are not natural English expressions. The misuse of 'children' instead of 'students' or 'undergraduates' significantly impacts the academic tone of the essay. To reach a higher band, you need to incorporate a wider range of topic-specific vocabulary and ensure that words are used in their correct collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'this help children'), missing articles, and incorrect preposition usage (e.g., 'deal to others'). Some sentences are fragmented or lack a main verb, such as 'In university where several children study multiple course like technology, medical and management.' These errors occur frequently and occasionally impede the clarity of your message. Increasing your control over basic sentence construction is essential before focusing on more complex structures.

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

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