Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-19

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)

It is true that authority should add cources for undergraduate students that they can spend their valuable time to study abroad or doing work for gather knowledge. While there are some drawbacks of this trend, i believe the merits outweigh the demerits.

There are many reasons for students to go abroad. One major reason is studying abroad they can gather more experience, which they amplify for their better future. Staying abroad, students work with verious types of people from different culture and different continent, which help them to consume more knowledge and it helps in future. In addition, taking cources in foreign countries, it helps them to introduce with modern technology. For example, modern technology's like chatgpt, gemini and other ai based app now controls the whole world. Being as a foreign undergraduate students they should work easily on those multi national companies and aslo prepare them to face any types of hard situation, whereas it helps them to improve their problem solveing ability in future.

Despite the benefits mentioned above, there are some drawbacks also. Undergraduate students are mostly young so it is much challenging for them to abroad and face everything. cultural shock is one of them,despite being a student they can't face this type of situation before. For that reason students feels lonely and depressed, so they can't concentrate on their studies and work, that effect badly on their present and future life. also the working culture in foreign countries different so students face problem to match that culture.

In conclusion, although there are some negative outcomes of this trend, i would argue that the advantages outweigh the demerits.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention benefits like gaining experience and exposure to technology, the explanations are repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the point about 'modern technology' is vague and doesn't clearly link how studying abroad specifically facilitates this compared to domestic study. The counter-arguments regarding cultural shock are relevant, but they are not fully explored or balanced against the benefits. To reach a higher band, ensure each main idea is supported by a concrete, well-explained example or logical progression.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Despite the benefits', and 'In conclusion'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as 'that effect badly on their present and future life', where the antecedent is ambiguous. The transition between the benefits and the drawbacks could be smoother to create a more cohesive argument. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring clear logical progression between sentences will enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'gather more experience' and 'hard situation'. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'authority should add cources' (likely meaning 'universities should include courses') and 'consume more knowledge'. Spelling errors like 'verious', 'aslo', and 'solveing' occur, though they do not impede communication. To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to education and international experience.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('students feels lonely'), incorrect preposition usage ('to abroad'), and awkward phrasing ('Being as a foreign undergraduate students'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma placement and spacing. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common grammatical slips would be highly beneficial.

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

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