Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-06

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)

The growing popularity of undergraduate courses has attracted considerable attention. Although this

development can create certain disadvantages; I believe that its advantages are more significant overall. In particular, it provides exposure to different cultures and provides room for being independent provide substantial benefits, while most of the negative effects can be reduced through appropriate management.

ADVANTAGES The most compelling advantage of studying abroad is that

exposure to the variety of cultural and academic courses. This is primarily because we can learn how the industry or university works compared to your city or country. When people are doing job, it enables people or

organizations to grow in their Carrer, thereby improving studying abroad provides significant benefits. A further benefit is being independent, which can have a positive effect on you. For example, I went to abroad I studied their then i got the job in this whole case I depended on myself like cooking myself applying jobs without any help or going to university alone. This illustrates kind of situations defines who I am and where iam standing can produce meaningful improvements in everyday life. These benefits are especially important because they are

likely to continue over the long term. Therefore, the positive effects of studying abroad or working there are substantial.

DISADVANTAGES Nevertheless, this development is not without its

challenges. One possible drawback is that home sick. This may cause feeling insecure and also sometimes missing the family that once you used to spend a lot of time with them,

particularly when during the festivals you fell alone suppose in India, we used to celebrate a variety of festivals like Deepavali Ganesh Chaturthi when I recall that situations it makes me to cry. Another concern is health. For example, my friend went to us to pursue final year of be tech in us he suffered a lot initially because of the climate for him it took 3 months to adopt those climates here in India the climate is different. However, these problems can often be limited by proper arrangements. More importantly, they are relatively

minor when compared with work life exposure and academic exposure. Consequently, while the disadvantages deserve attention, they

do not outweigh the broader benefits.

In conclusion, studying abroad or work placement has some negative aspects, particularly health and home sickness, but I firmly believe

that its advantages are more substantial. The improvement in work life balance and being independent makes this development more beneficial overall, provided that reasonable measures are taken to control its disadvantages

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The advantages and disadvantages are identified, and the writer provides personal examples to support their stance. However, some ideas are under-developed or expressed with limited clarity, such as the vague explanation of how industry works or the somewhat disjointed personal anecdote about studying abroad. While the position is consistent, the development of arguments lacks the depth required for a higher band, as some points are repetitive or rely on personal narrative rather than broader analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, and there is an overall logical progression. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or inaccurate. For instance, the transition 'In particular, it provides exposure to different cultures and provides room for being independent provide substantial benefits' is grammatically awkward and disrupts the flow. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and some sentences lack smooth connections to the preceding ideas. While the paragraphing is sufficient, the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved to ensure a more natural and sophisticated flow of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and flexibility expected at higher bands. There are instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'doing job' instead of 'working' or 'Carrerr' (spelling error). The student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary, but the range is limited, and there is a reliance on basic phrasing. To improve, the student should focus on using more academic collocations and ensuring that words are used in their correct grammatical form to convey meaning more effectively.

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 readability. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'these situations defines'), incorrect preposition usage ('went to abroad'), and fragmented or run-on sentences. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and full stops. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevents the response from reaching a higher band. More attention to proofreading and sentence structure is necessary.

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

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