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)

Every university undergraduate courses have to include some time invest in studying in other countries or doing an internship. In my opinion, it has more advantages than disadvantages. This will also provide them an early experience in persuing job and confidence in working in their particular field.

First of all, a certain period of time spending in working in any institutions can provide the students to gain self confidence because they will get information about their course. Building connections with co-workers help them to understand how they will spend their future. They will engage in different works making them creativity and productive. Also, going to study abroad encourage them to run their life by their own. For instance, managing expenses, cooking, and cleaning their house make them responsible.By this, they will become productive and in future this experience will help them.

However, study in abroad also have some disadvantages, like some educators waste their time in exploring country and visiting new areas. By doing this they will dissipate their significant time which they should have to spent in gaining knowledge. Secondly, doing a work placement will make some undergraduates uncomfortable because they lack self confidence , they sometimes lose their interest in studies and start wasting their time . As an illustration, introverts are not comfortable in working or talking with other people this will give them pressure on mind, or some will suffer from anxiety.

To conclude, doing an internship or pursuing education abroad advantages outweigh the disadvantages giving them self confidence and make them responsible.

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. The position is clear from the introduction and maintained throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding students wasting time abroad is mentioned but not fully explored, and the point about introverts is a bit simplistic. To reach a higher band, you should provide more nuanced explanations and perhaps a more balanced conclusion that synthesizes the points rather than just restating them. The response covers all parts of the task, but the depth of analysis is inconsistent.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices like 'First of all', 'However', and 'To conclude' to signal shifts in the argument. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'By this, they will become productive'). The transition between the advantages and disadvantages is functional but could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'internship', 'undergraduate', and 'dissipate'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'invest in studying' instead of 'investing time in', 'making them creativity' instead of 'making them creative', and 'pressure on mind' instead of 'mental pressure'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of your writing. To improve, focus on learning common collocations and using more precise academic vocabulary rather than relying on simpler, sometimes incorrectly used, phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('Every university undergraduate courses have') and article usage ('study in abroad'). There are also issues with word forms, such as 'persuing' (spelling) and 'making them creativity'. While these errors are noticeable, they rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning. To improve, pay closer attention to basic subject-verb agreement and ensure that your complex sentences are constructed accurately without missing prepositions or articles.

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

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