Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-26

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)

So important has studying abroad or a work placement become that it should be included in courses of all universities in bachelor's degrees. Nonetheless, it seems to me that, in spite of its adverse effects, international studying or work placements themselves indicate much more positive progress in many aspects as we shall see below.

Looking first at the benefits. Implementing programs such as studying abroad or work placements would be beneficial for the students themselves. This is because the learners would get new experiences or perspectives from international studying, for instance learning or teaching habits from abroad, that it would lead the student to implement the new knowledge from overseas to enhance their expertise. It also apllies to work placements that students would work after graduating, and the figures of unemployment in a country would decrease. Consequently, both programs could give positive impacts for all of the individuals such as experiences from the other country or job security after being a fresh graduate. Furthermore, we can see that societies also receive these advantages. It is said that the knowledge from new graduates would be applied to the work and have an impact on the community.

Apart from its benefits, attention should be paid to the potential drawbacks caused by these courses. Requiring studying overseas or work placements would need the substantial cost of organizing those two programs. Tuition fees or the interview require a significant amount of money. However, this problem could be tackled by a scholarship or government assistance to handle the costs.

To sum up, it is logically necessary that a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement is assumed to be a positive investment to students. Thus, it outweighs its probable negative effects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

Tanggapan ini menjawab semua bagian dari pertanyaan, dengan jelas menyatakan posisi bahwa keuntungan lebih besar daripada kerugian. Ide-idenya relevan, seperti perolehan perspektif baru dan potensi manfaat ekonomi. Namun, pengembangan ide-ide ini agak terbatas. Misalnya, argumen mengenai pengangguran dinyatakan tetapi tidak sepenuhnya dijelaskan atau didukung dengan kedalaman logis. Diskusi tentang kelemahan juga singkat. Untuk mencapai band yang lebih tinggi, Anda harus memberikan contoh yang lebih spesifik atau menguraikan 'how' dan 'why' dari argumen Anda untuk memastikan tanggapan dikembangkan sepenuhnya, bukan hanya digariskan.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

Esai ini terorganisasi secara logis ke dalam paragraf-paragraf yang jelas, masing-masing dengan fokus utama. Anda menggunakan perangkat kohesif seperti 'Looking first at', 'Furthermore', dan 'To sum up' untuk memandu pembaca. Namun, beberapa transisi terasa sedikit mekanis, dan referensi terkadang tidak tepat, seperti frasa 'it also apllies to work placements that students would work after graduating'. Meskipun perkembangan ide umumnya jelas, alur antar kalimat dapat ditingkatkan dengan menggunakan variasi kata penghubung yang lebih luas dan memastikan kata ganti merujuk kembali dengan jelas ke anteseden yang dimaksud.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Anda menunjukkan rentang kosakata yang memadai untuk tugas tersebut, termasuk istilah seperti 'adverse effects', 'expertise', dan 'substantial cost'. Ada beberapa kesalahan kecil dalam pemilihan kata dan kolokasi, seperti 'positive progress' (yang sedikit berlebihan) dan 'the figures of unemployment' (di mana 'rates' akan lebih alami). Anda mencoba menggunakan beberapa kosakata yang kurang umum, tetapi ketepatannya terkadang kurang. Untuk meningkatkan, fokuslah pada penggunaan kolokasi yang terdengar lebih alami dalam konteks akademik dan pastikan pilihan kata Anda tepat, bukan sekadar fungsional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

Esai ini menggunakan campuran struktur kalimat sederhana dan kompleks. Meskipun Anda berhasil menggunakan beberapa bentuk kompleks, terdapat kesalahan terus-menerus dalam tata bahasa dan tanda baca. Misalnya, 'it would lead the student to implement the new knowledge from overseas to enhance their expertise' sedikit kaku, dan ada kesalahan ejaan ('apllies'). Selain itu, beberapa kalimat konstruksinya agak canggung, seperti 'it is logically necessary that a period of time... is assumed to be a positive investment'. Kesalahan-kesalahan ini tidak menghambat komunikasi, tetapi memang mencegah tulisan mencapai tingkat kontrol tata bahasa yang lebih tinggi.

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

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