Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-03

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)

A work placement or some amount of time studying in a foreign country should be mandatory for all university undergraduate courses. In my view, the advantages of this would not outweigh the disadvantages.

Firstly, making studying in a foreign country or doing a work placement mandatory for all the undergraduate courses will increase the fees of the courses which will significantly increase the financial burden on the student. A significant number of people take education loans to finish their undergraduate degree and increasing the fees of that degree because of the expense of traveling and studying in a foreign country and the cost of living will consequently put the students under more mental stress. According to a recent study in the US, 40 percent of the students currently enrolled in universities have taken a education loan.

Furthermore, the second disadvantage of making these two things essential is the academic delay as studying abroad or work placement will directly increase the time required to finish a degree. This will result in student's focus being diverted from the main core studies. Most of the undergraduate courses in the universities are coursework and students have to complete their specified credit hours in order to get their degree so this will hugely impact the duration of the degree.

In conclusion, the disadvantages including rising of the fees for the coursework and an increase in the time required to finish a degree outweigh the advantages of doing a work placement or a fraction of time spent studying in a foreign country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt clearly, taking a firm position against making study abroad or work placements mandatory. The ideas are relevant, focusing on financial burden and academic delay. However, the development is somewhat limited; the essay would benefit from a more balanced discussion. While you mention the disadvantages, you do not acknowledge the potential advantages (e.g., skill acquisition or employability) to explain why they are outweighed. This makes the argument feel slightly one-sided. To reach a higher band, ensure you briefly address the opposing view to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, the transition between ideas could be smoother. Some sentences are slightly repetitive in structure, and the use of referencing could be more varied. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the length of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'mandatory', 'financial burden', and 'diverted'. There is some repetition of phrases such as 'undergraduate courses' and 'studying abroad'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, there is a lack of less common or more sophisticated lexical items. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations and synonyms to avoid repeating the same terminology throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are clear, though there are some minor errors, such as 'a education loan' (should be 'an') and 'rising of the fees' (should be 'rising fees' or 'the rise in fees'). Punctuation is generally accurate, but some sentences are quite long and would benefit from better clause management. The grammatical control is sufficient to communicate your ideas without causing confusion, but more variety in complex sentence forms would enhance the score.

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

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