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)
Nowadays students would like to pursue their studies outside their home country as it provides them a sense of growth and brings a lot of oppertunties in building their career in new environment with new people and unfamiliar culture. In the following paragraphs i will discuss regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the same.
To begin with, the students requires to work throughout their college period in order to cover all their expenses and to help them many universities allow several companies to recurit the students so that they can acquire job easily. In addition, the university undergraduates probably indulge the time period spent by individual in another country by cross checking the purpose of visiting outside borders. Moreover, if the criteria has met by them then they should get the distinction so that whatever time they have spent on polishing their skills becomes beneficial for them to secure a good placements in demanding field.
On the other hand, it is vey difficult to ascertain the authenticity of the work or study done by people when they were outside of their home country which makes it even harder to rely on. For instance, some students make vague certificates to achieve a well suited job which can be fordged and it is complicated process to do background check of an individual.
In conclusion, i believe that the disadvantage of all university undergraduate courses that is going to include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement will prevail the advantage of it because this concept has many drawbacks which can be reduced however cannot be completely eliminated.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including a study abroad or work placement period in university courses, and a clear position is stated in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and parts of the body paragraphs are difficult to follow or lack clear connection to the main question. For instance, the discussion regarding universities allowing companies to recruit students to cover expenses is marginally relevant, and the point about universities 'cross checking the purpose of visiting outside borders' is unclear. While all parts of the task are touched upon, the arguments in the body paragraphs need deeper elaboration and clearer examples to reach a higher band. Therefore, a Band 5.5 is appropriate for Task Achievement as the response addresses the prompt partially with some under-developed ideas.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is divided into four paragraphs, providing a basic structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'In addition', 'Moreover', and 'On the other hand', which helps signal the progression of ideas. However, paragraphing and referencing are sometimes faulty. The logical flow within the second body paragraph breaks down, making it hard to follow the exact argument being presented regarding background checks and forged certificates. Furthermore, referencing pronouns such as 'the same' in the introduction and 'this concept' in the conclusion lead to some ambiguity. Overall, the arrangement provides a coherent framework, but cohesion is occasionally mechanical and confusing, aligning best with a Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student attempts to use some less common vocabulary, such as 'unfamiliar culture', 'authenticity', and 'background check'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'oppertunties' instead of opportunities, 'recurit' instead of recruit, 'fordged' instead of forged, and the incorrect use of the word 'distinction'. Additionally, phrases like 'make vague certificates' demonstrate limited lexical precision and awkward collocation. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the general message, these frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and restrict the score to a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting complex structures through conditional clauses like 'Moreover, if the criteria has met by them then they should get...'. However, grammatical control is weak, with frequent errors such as subject-verb agreement issues ('the students requires'), incorrect passive voice usage ('if the criteria has met'), and punctuation errors like lowercase 'i' for the pronoun 'I'. Run-on sentences and awkward phrasing also impact readability, such as in the concluding sentence. Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, the grammar performance reflects a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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