Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-09

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 5.0)

All universities undergraduated courses should include a period of time doing work placement. The advantages of doing a work placement is more than time spend on studying abroad.

In univeristies, a lot of students were poor and they have to pay their university fee by doing jobs. Some student's family only manages their university dues by doing several jobs. A period of work placement should help other students especially those who never did a job in their entire life, how the real world works. By doing this every student should become independent by understanding the work pattern. Sometime, a tragity occurs to students and they have to pospone their studies due to it. If they know about how they can earn money to live, they overcome this matter quickly. If they spend there time for searching study abroad, they do studies but never do work as their focus is entirely on abroad. If they know how to work, they survive the harsh of real world.

As we all know about the countries like Pakistan and India where your own family doesn't appriciate studies abroad. Sometime students get depressed and heart broken when they tried, never reached their goal. Student's family and even their friends start making fun of them and this cause numerious problem on student health. A period on studing abroad help students to get scholarship but they never understand the drawbacks of society.

In my opinion, understanding work is better then spending time on searching studies abroad if you don't focus on both things together.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt but struggles with focus and development. While you take a position that work placements are superior to studying abroad, the arguments are somewhat disjointed. You mention financial struggles and the 'real world' as benefits of work placements, but the discussion on studying abroad is underdeveloped and focuses heavily on social pressures in specific countries rather than the educational or professional merits of the program. The prompt asks for an evaluation of both, but the balance is uneven. To improve, ensure each paragraph directly supports your thesis with clear, logical reasoning rather than anecdotal or tangential points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is often unclear. Transitions between sentences are sometimes mechanical or missing, making it difficult to follow the logic. For example, the shift from discussing financial hardship to the 'tragity' (tragedy) of postponing studies is abrupt. Additionally, the use of cohesive devices is limited and occasionally inaccurate, such as the repetitive use of 'If they know...' to start multiple sentences. Improving the use of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in contrast') would help create a smoother flow between your arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is limited and contains several spelling errors, such as 'undergraduated' instead of 'undergraduate', 'univeristies', 'tragity', 'pospone', 'appriciate', and 'numerious'. These errors, combined with awkward phrasing like 'survive the harsh of real world', occasionally impede the reader's understanding. You rely on basic vocabulary and struggle to use more sophisticated or academic terms effectively. To reach a higher band, focus on learning the correct spelling of common academic terms and practice using collocations—words that naturally go together—rather than translating directly from your native language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains frequent grammatical errors that affect clarity. There are issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'The advantages... is'), article usage, and sentence structure. Many sentences are simple or contain errors in complex construction, such as 'A period on studing abroad help students to get scholarship but they never understand the drawbacks of society.' Punctuation is also inconsistent. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence structures, ensuring subjects and verbs agree, and proofreading for common errors like missing articles or incorrect verb tenses before finalizing your work.

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

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