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)

There must be a time duration for a student in undergraduate courses in entire universities, to study abroad or doing any kind of employment. There are ceratin benefits of studying abroad and disadvantages also.

There are numerous benefits for a student doing a course from a university in abroad. By studying abroad a student became independent of himself by doing all his work himself, he will be able to analyze his abilities because in his hometown all his work were done by his mom and other persons. He gains konwledge about the other individuals and their culture also, he become able to understand and speak other languges too. Studying abroad, helps a student to from a new relations and friends. This immersive environment serves as a natural classroom for mastering a foreign language, as daily communication with native speakers builds real-world fluency far faster than traditional coursework. Beyond communication skills, navigating life in an unfamiliar country instills profound self-reliance, adaptability, and cross-cultural empathy.

Meanwhile, studying abroad also have some drawbacks, as the student financial condition becomes weaken, he have a lot of stress to pay the university fees, and also to support his familiy behind. Beyond the economic pressure, many students experience a profound sense of isolation, homesickness, and culture shock as they navigate unfamiliar societal norms and a foreign language without their usual local support system of family and friends. Academically, adapting to an entirely new educational system, different grading criteria, and distinct classroom expectations can be overwhelming, potentially leading to initial drops in performance.

In conclusion, study aborad provides student a strength of himself but there are also drawbacks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including a study abroad or work placement period in undergraduate courses, fulfilling the prompt's requirements. The position is clear throughout, and relevant ideas regarding independence, cultural awareness, financial pressure, and academic challenges are presented. However, some ideas are slightly repetitive or under-developed in the initial paragraphs, shifting into more sophisticated arguments later. The response generally aligns with the Band 6 descriptor, as it addresses all parts of the task with relevant ideas, though development is uneven across sections.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text shows a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing benefits and drawbacks, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used, though paragraph boundaries and transitions could be smoother. There is some mechanical use of cohesive devices, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as pronoun ambiguity in phrases like 'a student became independent of himself'. Cohesion is sometimes faulty, which places the essay firmly in the Band 6 category. Clearer logical progression and better linking between sentences would elevate this score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for the topic, including terms like 'immersive environment', 'cross-cultural empathy', and 'culture shock'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('ceratin', 'konwledge', 'languges', 'aborad'), grammatical word-choice issues ('become weaken', 'to from a new relations'), and frequent repetition of basic words. While less common items are attempted, inaccuracies in collocation and word formation mean the lexical resource best fits a Band 5.5 or solid Band 5 descriptor, as errors occasionally strain readability.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over structure when using relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'navigating life in an unfamiliar country instills profound self-reliance'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, run-on sentences, and punctuation issues throughout, such as tense inconsistencies and faulty subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'studying abroad also have some drawbacks, as the student financial condition becomes weaken'). Because errors are frequent and sometimes impede smooth reading, this performance corresponds to a Band 5.

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