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 increasingly common for all undergraduate students should go to foreign country for studies or doing an internship. Although this development have some disadvantages, I believe that advantages are more significant.

The primarily advantage is that moving abroad for studies or work placement can give people more career opportunities. They can find better jobs related to their field that can help them to develop their career. For instance, A student moving to an other country for studies, he could find good internship placement along his studies. Furthermore, students gain good work experience along better communication skills. Thus, this opportunity can open up many other paths that can lead students to the success.

Despite these benefits, moving to an other country also has some drawbacks. One major disadvantage is that home sickness. This is mainly because individuals are far away from their homes that lead sometimes to a mental health problems such as depression due to responsibilities. For example, survey shows students who live alone have experience more depression than students who live with their families. Additionally, students can also feel burden on themselves because of huge expenses. Nevertheless, the disadvantages are less significant then the benefits because it provide more career opportunities to the students.

In conclusion, although studying abroad or doing place has certain drawbacks, I believe that its advantages outweigh disadvantages, particularly because of better work skills and career opportunities.

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 essay fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While the main points regarding career opportunities and mental health are relevant, they are somewhat under-developed due to the brevity of the response. The conclusion is present but brief. To improve, you should expand on your examples and provide more depth in your analysis to ensure the essay reaches the required length and provides a more comprehensive argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'The primarily advantage', 'Furthermore', 'Despite these benefits', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or grammatically awkward, such as 'The primarily advantage'. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the lack of length prevents a more sophisticated flow between arguments. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring they are used with greater precision would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'internship', 'career opportunities', and 'mental health'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'The primarily advantage' (should be 'primary'), 'feel burden on themselves' (should be 'feel burdened'), and 'doing place' (should be 'doing a placement'). These errors do not impede communication, but they limit the score. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing by incorporating a wider variety of academic synonyms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Examples include 'all undergraduate students should go' (missing 'who'), 'this development have' (subject-verb agreement), 'moving to an other country' (article usage), and 'disadvantages are less significant then' (should be 'than'). While these errors are noticeable, they rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement, article usage, and the correct formation of comparative structures. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences will help raise your score.

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

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