Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-13

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)

All the courses during a bachelor's degree should include a period of time spent studying in a foreign country or gaining practical experience in the respective field. There are both pros and cons to deciding to do this. I will discuss some of the reasons why a work placement is beneficial and some of the challenges to be overcome.

Let's begin by looking at the advantage of gaining experience in a certain field. One of the main positives of placement indicates that it enhances a person's skills and knowledge by exposure. What I mean by this is that learning is done by practice. For example, a psychology student could become more competent by working in the clinical placements. This can make you more competent in your field.

Secondly, spending a period of time studying internationally helps you in expanding your knowledge through interactions because an individual might get chance to meet people with diverse cultural backgrounds and different perspectives. For instance, a student conducts a psychological research on childhood trauma and its effects on personality in which he collects data from international universities, the findings may differ. As people from another country might have different experiences so the results could outline numerous learning opportunities.

Turning to the other side of the argument, it might have very few disadvantages that might include lack of interest. For instance, if a person is not interested in his specific degree, he might find it useless. As there are some students who just want to complete their degree for the sake of jobs. In this scenario they might become frustrated with this opportunity.

In conclusion, I believe that the benefits in terms of gaining experience outweigh any negatives. However, no one should miss this career prospect.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the advantages of studying abroad or doing a work placement and the potential disadvantages, such as a lack of interest. A clear position is stated in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. Ideas are relevant, with examples provided, such as a psychology student completing clinical placements and researching childhood trauma internationally. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed; for example, the discussion of disadvantages is brief and relies on a simplistic point about lack of motivation. To reach a higher band, the arguments could be extended with more depth and analytical insight. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fulfilling the requirements for Band 6.5, which is rounded to 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs addressing separate points, and a conclusion. There is a logical progression of ideas, moving from work placement benefits to international study benefits, and finally to counterarguments. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Secondly', 'Turning to the other side of the argument', and 'In conclusion'. However, some referencing is slightly mechanical or repetitive, and paragraphing could be tighter. For instance, the transition in the opening paragraph uses conversational phrasing ('Let's begin by looking at...'), which detracts slightly from formal academic style. Overall, the organizational structure is coherent and easy to follow, supporting a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'practical experience', 'competent', 'diverse cultural backgrounds', and 'perspectives'. There are some successful attempts to use less common vocabulary, though occasional word choice and collocation inaccuracies occur, such as 'placement indicates that it enhances' instead of 'placements indicate that they enhance' or 'get chance to meet' instead of 'get the chance to meet'. Spelling is generally accurate. While vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly, it lacks the precision and flexibility characteristic of higher bands. Therefore, a score of 6.0 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and conditional-style constructions such as 'if a person is not interested in his specific degree, he might find it useless.' There are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'All the courses during a bachelor's degree should include' (awkward article use) and 'a psychology student could become more competent by working in the clinical placements' (unnecessary article 'the'). Punctuation is generally fine, and errors rarely impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from achieving a Band 7.0. A Band 6.0 reflects a mix of error-free sentences and frequent minor slips.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.