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)

According to the majority of people, university students should be allowed to move to a different country for studying further about there courses, or rather do an internship in an organisation. I believe that this is beneficial for the students as they get to learn more, although, there are some drawbacks.

University should develop specific courses that allow them to visit different countries. This can help them to gain further knowledge about the program. For instance, Europe provides scholarships for the top students ( Erasmus mundus scholarship) That enables them to travel to different countries and gain more understanding of their subject. Furthermore, travelling to different countries can help them to learn about their culture, which can broaden their ability to learn. University should also take initiative to help students gain practical skills by giving them short or long term job placement, as many university provides internships that helps many students to understand the work environment.

conversely, some universities might not be able to manage it in their courses due to lack of funds. For example, many private university does not have capital to invest in these programs. Without the government support many universities struggle to send students to different countries. Without any funding students might struggle with there expenses such as, expenses related to traveling, accommodation, and living expenses. Moreover, student face hardship as they might not be comfortable to travel to different country or work in an organisation. It can lead to unnecessary pressure.

consequently, I believe it is beneficial for the students as it can encourage them to understand more about their program and obtain valuable skills that can help them in there career, while gaining understanding about other countries.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses. A clear position is stated in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. Ideas are relevant, such as mentioning the Erasmus Mundus scholarship and financial constraints for universities and students. However, some arguments are a bit repetitive or under-developed, particularly regarding student comfort and psychological pressure. This places the performance firmly in Band 6. To reach a higher band, the student should expand further on specific consequences and ensure that every paragraph introduces distinct, fully articulated supporting points rather than circling back to general benefits.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Furthermore', 'conversely', and 'consequently'. However, some links feel mechanical or are misused—for instance, starting the final paragraph with 'consequently' rather than a summary transition like 'in conclusion' or 'overall'. Additionally, referencing is occasionally vague, such as using 'their' and 'there' interchangeably. These issues prevent the response from achieving a higher score, marking it as a solid Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'practical skills', 'work environment', and 'capital to invest'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'there courses' instead of 'their courses', 'private university does not' instead of 'private universities do not', and confusing 'there expenses' with 'their expenses'. These inaccuracies, while not impeding overall communication, prevent the vocabulary score from reaching a Band 7. More precision in word choice and careful proofreading would significantly elevate the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in punctuation, agreement, and word forms. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('many private university does not') and homophone confusion ('there expenses' instead of 'their expenses'). While these errors do not completely obscure the meaning, they occur frequently enough to pull the grammar score down to Band 5.0. To improve, the student needs to pay closer attention to pluralisation, verb-subject agreement, and the correct spelling of possessive pronouns.

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

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