Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
Work placement and studying abroad plans must be the part of all courses for fresh undergraduates, should implement by all universities of nation to help youth in achieving their goals. This may leads to many advantages with some disadvantages.
As the learners complete their studies from university, graduates start searching for the opportunity to get into the professional workplace. Some students do internships, if they perform well during the tenure of internship they may get a full time job or many students join small/ local companies to experience professionally. This takes alot of their time if universities provide work placement after their degree, can help students and also studing abroad. There should a dedicated period of time for students to search study abroad opportunities specially, scholarships and work placements.
Spending time in university with other students and finding opportunities for study abroad or work placement for a specific time can leads to many advantages for example; When I completed my studies I had no information regarding study abroad and now after 6 years I'm planning to continue my education from abroad. If study abroad period implemented in institutes this can help student to persu higher education with international exposure. While on the other side the dedicated periods will increase competition in nation as well as abroad and some can be documents fraud which can results in nation's insult.
In my opinion, The teachers should observe every student in row can do analysis on them and filter out students for study abroad who are compatable and can bear expenses while other student's talent must be examined and institute provides them work placement according to their skills and interest.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses the prompt by discussing the potential advantages and disadvantages of making study abroad or work placements mandatory for undergraduates. The writer takes a clear position, stating that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and attempts to develop ideas such as career readiness, international exposure, and the risk of document fraud or increased competition. However, some ideas are underdeveloped or overly generalised, and the reasoning is occasionally hindered by unclear phrasing, such as the sudden shift to personal anecdote regarding the author's own post-graduation experience. While all parts of the task are addressed, the depth of exploration remains limited, placing this response comfortably at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays an overall logical arrangement, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing advantages and disadvantages, and a concluding opinion. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas is somewhat messy, particularly in the second and third paragraphs where distinct concepts like internships and studying abroad are lumped together. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes inaccurately or mechanically, such as 'While on the other side' and 'in row can do analysis on them'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, making the progression of ideas bumpy in places. Overall, the organizational structure meets the requirements for a Band 5.5 to 6.0, best reflected at Band 5.5 due to the somewhat faulty referencing and cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'professional workplace', 'international exposure', and 'compatable'. However, there are noticeable word choice errors and spelling mistakes ('alot', 'studing', 'compatable', 'student's' instead of students), along with awkward collocations like 'documents fraud' and 'nation's insult'. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score. The vocabulary control is somewhat limited and repetitive in places, showing characteristics of a Band 5.0 performance.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but frequent grammatical errors are present throughout the text. Examples of structural and grammatical flaws include 'plans must be the part... should implement by all universities', 'This may leads to', 'There should a dedicated period', and 'The teachers should observe every student in row can do analysis on them'. Punctuation is also weak, with run-on structures and missing articles. These errors occur frequently and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, aligning closely with the Band 5.0 descriptor for grammatical accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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