Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-19

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 5.0)

It is suggested that all university undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing work placement. While this trend has both benefits and drawbacks, I believe the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages .

There are several advantages to this. The main benefits is that practical skills. University only gives theory However, company gives real skills. For instance, In india , a B.tech mechanical student who does 6 months placement in maruti suzuki learens real machines. A student who only read books cannot. So placement student gets job faster. Furthermore, studying abroad gives global exposure. Study abroad makes student independent, new language and new cultutre and student get financial strong.

On the other hand, there some disadvantages. Firstly, it is very expensive and all students cannot be affroad. This can increase university fees and create inequality between rich and poor students. For example, a student form a poor family may not be able to pay for a semester in the uk or usa. Secondly, it can be stressful and time-consuming. Students may suffer from homesickeness and culture shock in new country. Also, work placements can br tiring as students have to manage both work and study, Which, may affect their academic prerformance.

In conclusion, although there are drawbacks such as very expensive got many students, the benefits of students get practical exprience from overseas experts are much greater. Therefore, I think the advantages of outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student addresses all parts of the task, presenting a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Main ideas are outlined, such as practical skills, global exposure, high costs, and stress. However, many ideas are under-developed and lack extension. For instance, the example about Maruti Suzuki in India is very brief and simplistic. Furthermore, an important negative impact of the word count penalty must be factored in: the official length check indicates the response is 241 words, which fails to meet the 250-word minimum requirement. Consequently, Task Achievement is penalised for length, resulting in a band score of 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response features basic paragraphing, separating the introduction, advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion. However, overall progression is hindered by choppy, disconnected sentences and a lack of smooth transitions. While basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' are used, they are rather mechanical. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in sentences like 'The main benefits is that practical skills.' Furthermore, the overuse of short, simple sentences restricts the flow of ideas, aligning the writing with the descriptors for Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The lexical resource is limited and basic, with frequent vocabulary errors that occasionally impede understanding. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'global exposure', 'culture shock', and 'financial strong', but these are often used inaccurately or with poor collocation. There are noticeable word-form and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'learens', 'affroad', 'form', 'homesickeness', and 'exprience'. Because the vocabulary is repetitive and basic, with noticeable errors causing some difficulty for the reader, a band score of 5.0 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty. There are major grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The main benefits is that practical skills'), missing verbs ('Study abroad makes student independent, new language and new cultutre'), and incorrect punctuation and capitalization. Frequent errors in articles, prepositions, and sentence construction cause noticeable difficulty for the reader, pulling the grammar score down to 5.0.

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