Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-30

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)

University Undergraduate programmes are designed to provide enough knowledge about a particular course. Hence, not every university has such structured and well-designed curriculum which helps students to get introduced to vast international education. Conducting short-term studying abroad programme or providing global work placements can land a significant opportunities to the university students.

Global expenditure helps students to stay updated with the wide-spreading technology. Participating in such international conferences, tech-fest or competitions land them an opportunity to take one stand further in a market by introducing their university projects or a projects/concepts apart from university curriculum. Students are being introduced to explore another country's innovation in science, technology even in the design fields: exploration to new design's way of work, understanding the fashion industry's evolution over the period of time across the world.

Pointing out the another scenario of this expenditure, there could be a possibility that a one can get influenced by the other culture and forget his/her natives. Instead of, learning from globel market

Students adepts their culture, technologies any many more. Which becomes the reason of shopping one's mind and behaviour. Such thing can create a family issues where parents are not prepared to accept this change in their child. Which contributes to create relationship imbalance between a child and a parents.

Although, through communication and some adjustments kid's this issue can be solved. To conclude, I must say the advantages can over-shadow the disadvantages, as they includes unbelievable globel expenditure and opportunity to be a part of big platforms.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages of mandatory study abroad or work placements. However, the development of ideas is inconsistent. While the benefits are touched upon, the explanation of the drawbacks—specifically the cultural assimilation issues—is somewhat disjointed and lacks clear logical progression. The position is clear, but the supporting arguments are often underdeveloped or rely on vague generalizations. To improve, ensure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and provides specific, well-explained examples rather than brief, fragmented points. The conclusion is present but could more effectively synthesize the arguments presented.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow between and within them is frequently interrupted by awkward phrasing and unclear transitions. For instance, the transition 'Pointing out the another scenario of this expenditure' is unnatural and confusing. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often mechanical or misused, such as the abrupt start of the final paragraph with 'Although, through communication...'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the progression of the argument. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary range is limited and often imprecise. There are several instances of word-choice errors and non-standard collocations, such as 'land a significant opportunities', 'wide-spreading technology', and 'shopping one's mind'. The term 'expenditure' is used repeatedly in a context where it does not fit, as it usually refers to spending money rather than the experience of traveling or studying. While the meaning is generally conveyed, the lack of precision and the frequent errors in word formation and collocation prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Expanding your vocabulary to include more academic collocations would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with article usage ('a projects/concepts'), subject-verb agreement ('advantages... includes'), and sentence fragments ('Which becomes the reason of...'). Punctuation is also problematic, particularly with the misuse of commas and sentence boundaries. While the errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to distract the reader. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like pluralization and verb tense consistency.

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