Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17

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 universities with undergraduate courses should incorporate a mandatory period of study abroad or work placement. I believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages because it can increase their knowledge and helps them to choose right career path for the future.

Studying abroad and work opportunities at university level can create a lot of benefits. In this period, students gain knowledge about different countries and work in different fields. It can be helpful to identifying lucrative academic and professional opportunities overseas. For instance, in Japan, career counselling sessions are organized for guidance. Students are guided by professional professors. Professors provide them with information about different countries that provides low-tuition fee education and scholarship opportunities, such as Italy and many other countries. As a result, career counselling sessions play a vital role in students' development and growth.

The other prime reason is that it can be useful for students to choose job according to their degree. When students learn about several work and educational opportunities related to their fields, it urges them to study hard for best career in the future. For example, in China, well-educated professors start guiding the students from initial university level. They trained them for work according to their courses. This proactive approach contributes significantly to national development, as graduates are highly motivated regarding their future careers. the main reason of China's development because they are very kneen for future life. Therefore, a short period about studying abroad and work placement is very crucial for all undergraduate students.

In conclusion, although there are few drawbacks like students have insufficient time to complete additional requirements, it can be useful for career development. I firmly believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages because it can enhance their knowledge and broaden their perceptions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task, taking a clear position that the advantages of incorporating study abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses outweigh the disadvantages. A position is maintained throughout the response, including a brief acknowledgment of drawbacks in the conclusion. Main ideas are presented, such as gaining international knowledge and assisting with career choices, and supported with examples from Japan and China. However, some arguments lack deep development and tend to generalise, particularly in the body paragraphs where examples are somewhat asserted rather than fully explored. Nevertheless, the prompt is adequately covered, aligning with the criteria for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, two body paragraphs focusing on reasons, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices are employed to link sentences and paragraphs, such as 'In this period,' 'For instance,' and 'The other prime reason.' However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical, as seen in the phrase 'the main reason of China's development because they are very kneen for future life,' which disrupts the logical flow. Overall, the organization is coherent, meriting a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'mandatory,' 'lucrative,' 'proactive approach,' and 'career development.' However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and spelling, such as 'identifying' instead of 'identify,' 'kneen' instead of 'keen,' and awkward phrasing like 'provides low-tuition fee education.' These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the score to Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses and conditional structures. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('it can increase their knowledge and helps them'), missing articles or incorrect pluralisation ('provide them with information about different countries that provides'), and a fragmented sentence structure near the end of the second body paragraph ('the main reason of China's development because...'). While these errors are frequent, they rarely impede communication entirely, placing the response firmly at Band 5.5.

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

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