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)
The growing world brings a very competitive environment for the students. Universities should introduce an extra class in the undergraduate courses which teaches about the time spent on studying internationally or doing a work placement. The introduction of a period offers several advantages and i believe it will outweigh the disadvantages.
Nowadays,the preferences of every student is to go abroad and study in the prestigious colleges which they always wanted. While, moving out is not that easy and requires a proper guidance. Therefore, one of the main advantage of introducing this plan would play a vital role in the guidance of students and they can get to their aim quite easily. In addition, the availability of a free course provided by the university will save the cost of students which they can spend on their future studies.
On the other hand, another advantage is that students can get the detailed information in prior which results in the saving of time for everyone and a proper future plan. While some believes that the detailed information is not sufficient for them and actual pressure is only felt by the student. They also believes that studying abroad is not convenient for everyone and it can hurt the feelings of students,therefore universities should not include the period in undergraduate courses.
In conclusion, although some people believes that these are the disadvantages but advantages outweigh these. Introducing of period in university undergraduate courses could help majority of the aspiring students to take a proper guidelines and follow their aim.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of including studying abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses. The writer takes a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. However, there is some confusion in how the prompt is interpreted; the student frames the course as a preparatory class teaching about studying abroad ('teaches about the time spent on studying internationally') rather than mandatory physical participation in studying abroad or work placements itself. Consequently, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, particularly regarding the disadvantages, which are vaguely described as hurting feelings or causing pressure. While all parts of the prompt are touched upon, the lack of precise focus on the actual core topic prevents the score from reaching higher levels. This corresponds to a Band 5.5 performance.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing a basic structural layout. However, logical progression is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and unclear referencing. For instance, the second body paragraph begins with 'On the other hand, another advantage is...' which contradicts the transitional marker 'On the other hand' since it introduces another advantage rather than a counter-argument. Cohesive devices like 'Therefore', 'In addition', and 'In conclusion' are used, but sometimes mechanical or inaccurately applied. Paragraphing is attempted, though the division of ideas could be sharper. Overall coherence is maintained well enough to understand the writer's trajectory, supporting a Band 5.5 score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and phrases such as 'prestigious colleges', 'vital role', and 'aspiring students'. However, there are notable limitations and word-choice errors, such as 'in prior' instead of 'in advance', 'saving of cost' instead of 'cost savings', and 'take a proper guidelines' instead of 'receive proper guidance'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but inaccuracies in lexical chunks and collocations occasionally cause slight strain for the reader. These features reflect the Band 5.5 descriptor criteria, where lexical range is minimally adequate with noticeable errors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Universities should introduce an extra class in the undergraduate courses which teaches about...' and 'While, moving out is not that easy...'. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including article misuse ('the preferences of every student is', 'the detailed information'), singular/plural discrepancies ('student' instead of 'students'), and punctuation errors like missing spaces after commas ('Nowadays,the preferences'). Complex structures are often attempted, but frequent errors persist, although they rarely impede overall communication. This performance aligns comfortably with the Band 5.0 to 5.5 range, and 5.5 is awarded as meaning remains largely clear.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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