Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-28

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)

In recent years, undergraduate courses including a time allocated to studying overseas or helping them students with placements opportunities has become an increasingly common. While this development offers several advantages, it also presents certain drawbacks. This essay will examine both the benefits and advantages of work experience and international exposure before reaching the conclusion.

Firstly, almost all universities nowadays are including the a lecture for inspiring the students to study abroad or getting a internship before completing their undergraduate courses. This is mainly because, the students passed out in recent years lacks faster retention of skills and confidence to face real world-problems as well as to represent themselves on international level. These is caused due to universities mostly focusing on theoretical studies and lesser determination on practical knowledge. I believe that these advantages are more significant.

Secondly, some believe that the undergraduate courses should strictly stick to basic ideas and principles. These is because, focusing more on practical knowledge may lead to increasing the costing of institutional facilities like standardized testing and expensive hands-on training. Which ultimately result in the rise of educational expenses and taking away the right of individuals, who are unable to afford it. Also making students willing to study abroad gives them international exposure and cross-cultural communication skills.

In conclusion, although hands-on exercises, on field experience and overseas education has certain disadvantages, I believe that its advantage are more substantial. the benefits of practical knowledge and real-world problem solving skills make this development a positive change overall.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of mandatory study abroad or work placements. You clearly state your position that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'costing of institutional facilities' is a bit vague and could have been better supported with concrete examples of how these costs impact students. While you cover all parts of the task, the depth of analysis is inconsistent, which prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. To improve, ensure each main point is fully explained with a clear link back to the central question.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and you use basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as the use of 'These is' to refer back to previous ideas. Additionally, some sentences are fragmented or lack smooth transitions, which affects the overall progression of your argument. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer to their antecedents will help create a more cohesive and professional flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'theoretical studies', 'international exposure', and 'cross-cultural communication'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'students passed out' (a non-standard phrase for graduating) and 'increasing the costing'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do highlight a lack of precision. To reach a higher band, focus on using more natural collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing. Expanding your vocabulary to include more academic, topic-specific terminology would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that detract from the quality of the writing. Common issues include subject-verb agreement errors (e.g., 'students... lacks', 'These is caused'), incorrect article usage (e.g., 'the a lecture'), and punctuation errors. While the meaning remains clear, these persistent errors indicate a lack of control over complex structures. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your sentence construction remains grammatically sound when attempting more complex ideas.

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

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