Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18

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)

It is stated that at university level the couses of undergraduates should have a period in which they spent studying abroad or doing some kind of internships. This eassy will explain advantage and disadvantages about this argument.

On the one hand, univerisities should add some time for students to study abroad or doing internships. This will be very beneficial for undergraduates , as it will help them to learn different things. In addition, work placements help them to gain practical experience related to their course. While, the duration period of study abroad will boost their skills and help them to learn new culture.

For example, its compuslory for students of software egineering to do internship in last year of graduation as a course part. And it helped students alot in learning as well as in future for jobs. Before Final year project, internship help to get new idea for project, aloso help to get clients fir fyp purchase.

On the orher hand, It also have some limitations. Undergraduates face alot of differiculties in finding placemnets . Company hire them but aloso put alot of burdon on them. Some of the company dont pay any thing to students for doing this placement. It will cases students financial problems. Moreover, study abroad can not be afford by some undergraduates that have bad finances.

For instance, a student of SE will must to do internship, but his family cannot afford expenses of this . So its difficult for this student to do placement.

In addition, study abroad and placements are good but it should not be compulsory for everyone . Every student should have freedom to do it. If they cannot afford it than its ok for them and will not effect to their grades.

In Conculsion, period should be given to undergraduates for studying abroad or doing a work placement but advantages will outweigh the disadvantages but if its not compulsory for everyone to study or work placements.

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 including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses. The writer presents a clear position that these opportunities are beneficial and that advantages outweigh disadvantages, provided they are not strictly compulsory for everyone. Ideas are extended with relevant examples from a software engineering background, such as internships helping with final year projects and client acquisition. However, some arguments, such as the financial constraints and company burdens, are slightly underdeveloped and repetitive. Despite minor structural inconsistencies in the conclusion regarding whether it should be compulsory, the main requirements of the task are met satisfactorily, placing it firmly at a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable four-paragraph structure comprising an introduction, body paragraphs addressing advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Transitional markers such as 'On the one hand', 'For example', and 'On the other hand' are used to signal the progression of ideas, although some cohesive devices are mechanical or faulty, as seen in the slightly awkward phrasing 'While, the duration period'. Referencing is generally clear, and paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct thematic points. However, the logical flow is occasionally disrupted by minor tracking errors and somewhat repetitive phrasing, justifying a Band 6.0 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to higher education and employment such as 'undergraduates', 'internships', 'practical experience', and 'financial problems'. However, there are numerous spelling and word-choice inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'couses' instead of courses, 'eassy', 'univerisities', 'compuslory', 'egineering', 'fir', 'fyp', 'orher', 'burdon', 'aloso', 'cases' instead of cause, and 'Conculsion'. These errors do not entirely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score because attempts at less common vocabulary consistently introduce mechanical or spelling flaws.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like conditional and relative clauses ('If they cannot afford it than its ok for them'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors in tense usage, article omission, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement. Examples include 'It is stated that at university level the couses of undergraduates should have', 'study abroad can not be afford', 'a student of SE will must to do internship', and 'will not effect to their grades'. Punctuation errors, such as missing apostrophes and erratic spacing around commas and periods, are also noticeable. While communication is rarely fully blocked, the density of grammatical mistakes keeps the score at a Band 5.0.

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