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 thier courses, or rather do an internship in an organisation. I believe that this is beneficial for the students as they get to learn more, however, 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 foreign culture, which can broaden their ability to learn. Universities should also take an initiative to help students gain practical skills by giving them short or long-term job placements, as many universities provide internships that help 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 universities, do 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 their expenses such as, expenses related to traveling, accommodation, and living expenses. Moreover, students face hardships as they might not be comfortable to travel to a 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 their career, while gaining understanding about other countries.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, and provides a clear overall position. The writer introduces relevant ideas, such as acquiring subject-specific knowledge through programs like the Erasmus Mundus scholarship and gaining practical skills via internships. The disadvantages are also addressed by discussing funding challenges for private institutions and the potential psychological pressure on students. However, some arguments lack full extension. For instance, the point about students feeling uncomfortable travelling or working could have been explored more deeply to fully support the argument. Overall, the task is addressed well, matching the Band 6.5 descriptor closely, but rounded to a whole band for IELTS scoring.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement with distinct paragraphing. Each paragraph has a logical focus: an introduction, advantages in the second paragraph, disadvantages in the third, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Furthermore', 'Conversely', and 'consequently'. However, some elements of cohesion are slightly mechanical, and referencing is occasionally imprecise. For example, starting the final paragraph with 'consequently' is logically weak given that it introduces a summary and personal opinion rather than a direct consequence. Paragraph transitions are functional, but could flow more naturally to achieve a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common and topic-specific vocabulary such as 'internship', 'scholarships', and 'practical skills'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('thier' instead of 'their') and occasional awkward phrasing like 'doing a work placement' or 'do not have capital to invest in these programs'. The range of vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas clearly, but the presence of noticeable lexical errors and the reliance on fairly common words prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures, such as 'Universities should take an initiative to help students gain practical skills by giving them short or long-term job placements, as many universities provide internships...' There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues, including a lowercase letter starting the final paragraph ('consequently, I believe...') and slight preposition or article errors (e.g., 'Without the government support' and 'understanding about other countries'). Despite these errors, meaning is rarely impeded, and the majority of simple sentences are accurate.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.