Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-07

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)

It is argued that all undergraduate university programmes should period of studying overseas or completing a work placement. Although this requirement may create great challenges for students, I believe its benefit would outweigh the drawbacks.

To begin with the, a work placement can give university students valuable practical experience. Instead of learning only through books and lectures, students can apply their academic knowledge in real workplace. For example, a nursing student who works in hospital to gain their practical skills and learn how to communicate with the patients and other healthcare professionals. Moreover, studying abroad can help students become more independent and understand different cultures. As a result, students may be better prepared for employment after graduation.

Conversely, making these activities compulsory could create financial and personal difficulties for some students. studying abroad may be expensive because students may have to pay for travel, accommodation and daily expenses. In addition, some students may have responsibility of their family that makes it difficult to spend time in other country. However, some university could provide financial assistance and scholarship for students who cannot afford expenses. But there are some requirements in student to get this, such as, percentage criteria, adequate language score and after this all assessment of students they will provide it. Therefore, disadvantage can be reduced, while the long term benefit remain the same.

In conclusion, compulsory in study abroad can lead to some difficulties to students, i believe that advantage outweigh cons. These experience helps students to enhnance their skills, independent and valuable preparation for their future careers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, such as practical experience and cultural independence, and the counter-arguments regarding financial and personal difficulties are acknowledged. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how universities provide financial assistance is a bit repetitive and lacks specific detail. To reach a higher band, you should aim to expand on your supporting arguments with more depth and perhaps a more nuanced exploration of the 'compulsory' aspect of the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', 'Conversely', and 'In conclusion' to link your thoughts. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as 'To begin with the' (which is grammatically incorrect) and 'after this all assessment of students they will provide it', which makes the flow of that specific sentence clunky. Improving the variety and precision of your linking words will help your writing flow more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'work placement', 'academic knowledge', and 'financial assistance'. However, there are some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'compulsory in study abroad' (should be 'making study abroad compulsory') and 'enhnance' (spelling error). The range is sufficient to communicate, but it lacks the flexibility and precision required for a higher band score. Try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and ensure accurate word forms.

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, particularly with articles ('in hospital' instead of 'in a hospital'), subject-verb agreement, and sentence construction ('some university could provide' should be 'some universities could provide'). Additionally, there are punctuation issues, such as the comma usage in 'such as, percentage criteria'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, especially articles and pluralization.

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

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