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)

Test-3

Writing task-2

Education paves away towards a bright and prosperous future. There is a notion that majority of all university undergraduate courses should add a period of time studying abroad or doing a work placement. This essay will examine that the advantages surpass the disadvantages in the upcoming paragraphs.

On the one hand, there are their major advantages behind adding a period of time in a course, for studying abroad and doing a work placement. Firstly, it provides better knowledge for chosen course. To elaborate, if students working somewhere in a same field before entering a course, consequently it gives a lot of information for those particular courses. Secondly, working somewhere before entering any courses may lead experience of practical skills for any courses. Lastly, if the students spent their period of time at studying abroad, as a result having career opportunities in their life.

On the other hand, there are two major demerits behind adding a period of time to in courses. First and foremost, for studying abroad or doing a work placement. This process is lengthy and complicated. To exemplify, nowadays most of the students prefer to study abroad in a gap in their course. But unfortunately, the process of study abroad takes lot of time and rare chance to get visa. Furthermore, there are lots of health risk for doing work in any kind of field for just gaining experience.

To encapsulate, I reckon that, having a period of time for studying abroad our work placement is generally more beneficial. Although health and safety is important, adding a period of time helps people learn valuable skills and adapt to changing. Therefore, include a period of time in course is effective approach.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention benefits like practical skills and career opportunities, the explanations are brief and lack specific, concrete examples to fully support your arguments. For instance, the point about 'health risks' in the second body paragraph is vague and not clearly linked to the context of work placements. To reach a higher band, ensure that each main idea is fully extended with detailed reasoning or illustrative examples rather than just listing points. The conclusion effectively summarizes your stance, but the overall depth of the argument remains at a Band 6 level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Firstly', and 'To encapsulate' to guide the reader. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'consequently it gives a lot of information for those particular courses'. Additionally, some sentences lack smooth flow due to grammatical issues, which occasionally impacts the clarity of the logical links between ideas. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring they are used naturally would enhance the cohesion of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'undergraduate courses', 'work placement', and 'career opportunities'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of imprecise word choice or awkward phrasing, such as 'paves away towards' (should be 'paves the way') and 'demerits behind adding'. There is also some repetition of basic vocabulary. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations and synonyms to demonstrate a wider range of vocabulary and better control over word choice.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'if students working somewhere' (should be 'if students work'), 'there are their major advantages' (should be 'there are major advantages'), and 'adapt to changing' (should be 'adapt to change'). Punctuation and article usage are also inconsistent. These errors occur frequently, though they do not usually impede communication. To achieve a higher score, focus on mastering subject-verb agreement, correct verb forms in conditional sentences, and refining your use of articles and prepositions.

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

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