Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-14

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)

Many people think that every educational institute who provide graduation courses should compulsorily add some duration of learning abroad else placements for employment should be provided. I largely believe this positively benefits to the evolvement of student's life as well as gets them better opportunities in their work field to a great extent and my inclination towards this view will be elucidated further in the following paragraphs.

One of the major benefit of universities adding duration of studying in another country impacts largely on student's life as they get to experience the teaching skills of professional staff of different country, which widens their perspective of thinking and ability to grow individually. For example, one student named Krutik Shah got the opportunity to learn Artificial Intelligence course from his college located in India for the duration of 3 months in the top university of Germany named BIT. There he completed his course with first class distinction and a company specialising in AI technologies offered him a high paying job with a funded scholarship to complete his further education.

Another advantage of colleges providing job placements from good companies to students allows them to get the best starting career under the guidance of their college guides who makes them pursue better in life. It also removes the mental pressure and hectic burden from students mind as the competition for getting a better job is rising significantly day-by-day. So this can help them to focus on working efficiently and learning new skills rather than standing in a queue for the interviews. For instance, many students face hardships to get a job even after completing higher degree of education which results not only to them working off-field but also many of them remains unemployed.

On the other hand, the undergraduate's getting an opportunity to study abroad may cause hinderence in their focus to study, can develope language barriers and also affect negatively on parents as it will cause a financial burden on them. For example, many people have weak financial conditions so the cost of studying in another country can result to them taking loans from bank or financial help from other people which in return would make them pay high interest.

In conclusion, there are disadvantages of this situation such as financial burden on families but the benefits definitely over-weigh it as the universities provide such opportunities for the betterment of the life of undergraduate students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad and doing work placements, taking a clear overall position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Main ideas are presented and supported with examples, such as the mention of a student named Krutik Shah learning Artificial Intelligence in Germany. However, the development of ideas tends to be somewhat repetitive and generalises at times, particularly regarding job placements. While the arguments are relevant and well-directed towards the prompt, the depth of extension places the essay firmly in the Band 6.0 to 6.5 range. It adequately covers the task with a clear position, though some supporting details could be more thoroughly elaborated to reach higher levels of task response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, distinct body paragraphs focusing on specific aspects of the prompt, and a concise conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are utilised throughout the text, such as 'One of the major benefit', 'Another advantage', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, some of these devices feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is occasionally faulty, such as 'the undergraduate's getting an opportunity' where punctuation and article usage disrupt the flow. Despite these minor cohesive slips, the logical progression is generally maintained and the reader can easily follow the student's line of reasoning.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'compulsorily', 'evolvement', 'first class distinction', and 'hinderence'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the response, such as 'every educational institute who provide' instead of 'which provides', 'benefits to the evolvement' instead of 'benefits the development', and spelling errors like 'hinderence' and 'develope'. Despite these inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning and communication is rarely impeded by lexical limitations, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting multi-clause sentences such as 'I largely believe this positively benefits to the evolvement of student's life as well as gets them better opportunities...' However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement ('institute who provide', 'many of them remains'), article usage ('teaching skills of professional staff of different country'), and prepositional phrases ('benefits to the evolvement'). Complex structures often contain mistakes, though simpler sentences tend to be more reliable. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the score to a Band 5.5 due to the frequency of grammatical slips.

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

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