Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-20

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)

Currently, education system across the world is evolving day by day, and according to some, all educational institutes should add some time in their courses, where learners who are still in the process of study, get some education from a foreign country, and get some experience from some type of employment. And in my opinion, their benefits are more than drawbacks. In this essay, I will give some points to support my essay.

Firstly, different universities are doing various things to boast the confidence and create many career opportunities for their students which are undergraduates. For instance, some universities send their children to abroad to get some or remaining instruction from their. In this way students explore different types of cultures and environment. Moreover, its encourage the students to do research in advance environment and it is very beneficial for them. There are many options available for their future to grab them and settle their life just after completing their study.

Furthermore, few educational institutes also send their pupils in different work places to get some experience before finishing their education. And I believe that remaining institutes also follow this path. For example, when universities send students in work, they not only get experience, but also obtain knowledge of their work, which they have to start after study. They already know about the hardships and struggle before finishing their education. In addition to that, students create a ability to work better in future. They will do better in their sectors by these kinds of experiments.

To conclude that, all other physical activities are necessary for students development, but to secure their future I strongly think that, universities should add period in their courses, by which they can get opportunity to explore different aspects of study and gain experience in different sectors of work before winding up their education.

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 all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The arguments regarding cultural exposure and practical work experience are relevant. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the mention of 'different types of cultures' and 'hardships and struggle' is quite general and lacks specific, illustrative examples that would elevate the response. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more concrete details or hypothetical scenarios. While the position is clear, the supporting arguments remain at a somewhat basic level of abstraction, which limits the depth of the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'In addition to that' are used to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive. Additionally, there are instances where the flow between sentences is slightly disjointed, such as the transition between the introduction and the first body paragraph. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression of ideas could be smoother if you varied your linking phrases and ensured that each sentence builds more naturally upon the previous one.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on common words like 'things', 'get', and 'do', which limits the sophistication of your writing. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'boast the confidence' (should be 'boost') and 'in advance environment' (likely meant 'advanced'). While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is somewhat narrow, and there is little evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions. Focusing on more precise academic vocabulary would significantly improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Common issues include article misuse ('the education system', 'to abroad'), subject-verb agreement ('its encourage'), and awkward phrasing ('create a ability'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some unnecessary commas that disrupt the rhythm of your sentences. While your meaning is almost always understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher level of accuracy. You should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical agreement and article usage.

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

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