Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-15

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)

A time span for learning abroad or get along with work placement should involve undergraduates courses in all university. This essay will argue that the advantages of this outweigh the drawbacks. The essay will first demonstrate that the someone who study in abroad or gain some skills have significant importance in future career, Followed by an analysis of how the primary disadvantage, namely confusion with their theoretical concepts without practical skills.

The main reason to addition of time period for the undergrad shows more benefits. For students who want semester exchange in abroad or externship get transformative experience build in their personal academics as well as professional future. Also, studying abroad is expensive but students with good score can get scholarship and facilities in universities. Additionally students will get skills while internship and generate a good money for their needs. For example, my class fellow last year went to UK in educational exchange program. where she did her course along with part-time job that make her self dependent.

Despites these advantages, students may lose the opportunity that will be used to advance their future perspective, and if learners didn't avail that they will stuck to theoretical skills rather than real life practice. Nowadays, job market are very competitive an extra Expertise give the huge impact on life. if university don't include it become a disadvantage for the undergrad. Moreover, some universities not giving the chance to their students to get exposure of practical life skill by providing Internship or collaboration with other country related to educational system. For instance, the students who are not involved in these Curricular programs will have difficulties in future regarding their jobs or other terms.

In conclusion, undergraduates in all universities can be advantageous if they get a period of time for studying out of country or doing work internship and learn more about the world. however losing these beneficial expertise can become a major disadvantage.

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 studying abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, and presents a clear overall position that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. Ideas are generally relevant, such as career benefits and financial independence through part-time jobs. However, some arguments are underdeveloped or slightly confused, such as the muddled point regarding theoretical concepts in the first paragraph. The support tends to be anecdotal and over-generalised in places. This places the response comfortably at Band 6.0, as it addresses all parts of the prompt with relevant ideas, though some areas lack full development and clarity.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response features a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised, though paragraph boundaries and internal structures are occasionally awkward. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically or inappropriately, such as 'The main reason to addition of time period' and 'Despites these advantages'. Referencing is not always clear, and the logical progression stumbles slightly due to sentence-level confusion. Overall, the organizational structure is adequate for a Band 5.5 or 6.0, but the recurring errors in cohesion and referencing keep it at a Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate to the academic topic, including terms like 'transformative experience', 'educational exchange program', and 'self dependent'. However, there are numerous lexical and collocational inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'get along with work placement', 'study in abroad', 'generate a good money', and 'future perspective'. Spelling and word formation errors also occur, such as 'stuck' instead of 'stuck with' and 'Curricular'. Despite these frequent errors, communication is rarely impeded, demonstrating an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, which aligns with Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over complex structures is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement, such as ' undergraduates courses in all university', 'someone who study in abroad', 'universities not giving the chance', and 'job market are very competitive'. Punctuation is also erratic in places, with lowercase letters starting sentences and misplaced commas. Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader, but simple sentences are generally controlled, the writing fits the Band 5.0 descriptor well.

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