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)
In recent decades, it is often argue that all undergraduate pupils should be required to spend a period of their degree either studying in another country or gaining practical knowledge through a work placement. I largely agree with this view, as such opportunities can provide students with valuable practical skills, work placement, experience different culture and work experience.
On the one hand, providing opportunities of study abroad and doing work placement to students unlock a number of benefits. Firstly, it gives them couple of knowledge of international studies and foreign life experience. Students can access their advance academic career, they gain higher knowledge through this opportunities. Secondly, a better work placement can be beneficial for gaining experience of advance work lifestyle. To illustrates, a scholar work as a cashier in bank, it could improve work manner and master in it. Students can be able to solve international problems which is very crucial in today's time.
On the other hand, it also has some drawbacks of study or work in abroad. Initially, the most pupils face problem is homesickness, students getting mentally unstable in abroad. They feel depressed while study or work. Another reason is that study or work in abroad is very expensive, low income families cannot afford study in foreign which creates the financial issues between family.
In light of the above, study in abroad or doing a work placement is beneficial for scholars as it access the number of knowledge and experience. They are able to solve moderate issues by themselves. Nevertheless, it creates a financial burden on family who has a low income sources. Also, it impact on students who suffer homesickness in abroad. Whereas, I believe that study abroad or work in abroad can provide lots of advantages for those scholars who able to face this issue which mentioned before.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of mandatory study abroad or work placements. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the argument regarding 'homesickness' and 'financial burden' is mentioned but lacks depth or specific examples to fully support the points. While a position is clear, the supporting arguments are often repetitive or vague, such as the claim that students gain 'higher knowledge' without explaining how. To reach a higher band, you should provide more concrete evidence or logical elaboration for each point raised.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use basic cohesive devices like 'On the one hand', 'Firstly', and 'In light of the above' to signal transitions. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and the logical progression is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as the transition between the benefits of work placements and the drawbacks of studying abroad. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the use of linking words could be more varied and sophisticated to improve the overall flow of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'couple of knowledge', 'access their advance academic career', and 'low income sources'. You rely on repetitive phrasing like 'study or work in abroad' throughout the text. To improve, you should focus on using more academic collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated vocabulary and the presence of word-choice errors limit the score in this criterion.
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 occasionally impede the reader's understanding. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('it is often argue'), incorrect preposition usage ('in abroad'), and missing articles. For instance, 'a scholar work as a cashier' should be 'a student working as a cashier'. While you attempt complex sentences, they are often faulty, which affects the overall accuracy. Focusing on basic grammatical accuracy and proofreading for common errors like article usage and verb forms would significantly improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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