Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-05

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)

All university undergraduate courses should include a period of time a student spent this time on studying abroad or doing a work placement. I think the advantages of this would outweigh the disadvantages. Study abroad is useful for students.

Firstly, undergraduate courses in university should include 5 to 6 months for study abroad and when a student go abroad for study purpose they meet with more people and become confidence. They also improve their English language and they learn about new culture and when the come back they have new idea. study in abroad improve the communication skills of the student. they get a lot of experience from this journey.

On the other hand, in this time period if students join a company for work the students improve their skills and they become more confident in any activity and this is helpful in his future after the graduation they got job easily and they easily survive in community in his job they learn practical skills and after the graduation student did not worry about job because the company should give a jobs to brilliant students. Some students are worried about their future because they did not have any experience and confidence and this time period is opportunity for this kind of students they have no any experience and confidence in work and when the start a working they feel better.

To sum up, spending time in abroad or any work place give confidence , experience, new skills and new ideas and this may help in their future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is limited. While you mention benefits like improved communication and confidence, the arguments are repetitive and lack specific examples or deeper analysis. The discussion on work placements is somewhat generic, focusing on 'getting a job easily' without exploring the complexities or potential drawbacks of such a mandatory policy. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more detailed reasoning and ensure that the arguments are distinct rather than restating the same benefits of 'confidence' and 'experience' multiple times.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite mechanical and repetitive. Phrases like 'Firstly' and 'On the other hand' are used, but the internal flow within paragraphs is often disjointed. For instance, the transition between studying abroad and work placements is abrupt. Additionally, referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the use of 'this time period' and 'this kind of students,' which makes the progression of ideas feel slightly fragmented. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would significantly improve the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. You frequently rely on simple terms like 'good,' 'useful,' and 'experience.' There is little evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic language. Furthermore, there are errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'study in abroad' (should be 'studying abroad') and 'survive in community' (which is unnatural). To improve, you should focus on learning topic-specific vocabulary related to education and professional development, and practice using synonyms to avoid repeating the same words throughout the essay.

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, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('a student go abroad'), article usage ('in abroad'), and tense consistency ('student did not worry'). Punctuation is also problematic, with several run-on sentences and missing commas. While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors interfere with the fluency of the text. You should focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring that subjects and verbs agree and that prepositions are used correctly, before attempting more complex structures.

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

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