Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12
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)
In my opinion all the universities undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placements.
I think that this course time will definitely outweigh the disadvantages because studying abroad can provide students a better platform to learn new subject or an unknown topic.
This process creates a good intellectual skills among the students in abroad and make them feel comfortable to their surrounding, where people from different countries and different cultures come together to study and learn.
Completing the undergraduate courses in abroad or doing a work placement is far better opportunity for the people to prove themselves to the world.
For example, completing the UG course in the same locality does not provide a best way for the persons to experience the external society of the world and the harsh reality of the educational system. Whereas studying in abroad generate a vast opportunities for the people to prove their talent.
Working and studying with the same people throughout the life is not a preferable idea for a person to develop or to success in in his\her life.
The abroad universities provide a wide range of possibilities for non local students or citizens.
In conclusion, I would say that studying UG courses in some period of time in abroad is very preferable. These universities help in getting a good placements of work for the students. In these few years students develop many extraordinary skills and work hard to pursue their dream in the future. A good company's placement offer is a very good chance to succeed in life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses the main prompt by discussing whether the advantages of studying abroad or doing a work placement outweigh the disadvantages, taking a clear stance that they do. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive and lacks specific, well-supported arguments. For instance, the writer mentions that studying abroad helps students learn new subjects and develop intellectual skills, but these points are generalized without strong supporting evidence or detailed explanation. The conclusion reiterates the stance but relies on general statements about job placements. While the position is clear throughout, the ideas remain underdeveloped, placing the response firmly at Band 5.0 according to the descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay is organized into distinct paragraphs with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing some overall structure. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by repetitive statements and abrupt transitions between ideas. For example, sentences such as 'Working and studying with the same people throughout the life is not a preferable idea' appear isolated without strong cohesive links to the surrounding text. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and cohesive devices are simplistic or mechanical (e.g., repeating 'In conclusion' and 'For example'). Paragraphing is attempted, but some paragraphs are overly brief and fragmented. Overall, the organization shows elements of Band 5, lacking smooth overall progression.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task, with recurring basic terms such as 'study', 'work placement', and 'students'. There are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'work placements' (plural misuse), 'creates a good intellectual skills', 'in abroad', and 'to success in in his\her life'. Additionally, spelling and morphological errors occur (e.g., 'non local', 'success' instead of 'succeed'). While the meaning is generally communicated despite these limitations, the vocabulary range is restricted and errors frequently cause difficulty for the reader, aligning with Band 5.0 descriptors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but attempts at complexity often result in grammatical errors. Examples of structural and grammatical inaccuracies include 'In my opinion all the universities undergraduate courses should include...', 'this course time will definitely outweigh', and 'studying abroad can provide students a better platform' (missing preposition). There are also punctuation and typographical issues, such as 'his\her'. Frequent grammatical errors are present, and while communication is maintained, the high frequency of errors places this performance at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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