Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

Having an undergradute degree with a abroad studying experience or having work placement experience is more like an advantage than disadvantage. The first thing students asked about, after completing undergraduation when they go out into the market, is the work experience. Moreover, having a simple degree with no distinct features get you no where. The biggest disadvantage of having something like this during studies is distration.

Undergraduate degrees with the courses including studying abroad or doing a work placement, are the need of today's world. In this compatetive race, every student want to achieve something which other cannot has. So, the experience of something like this not onlu help those who can afford all this, but also put the under privilage on the same page as them, where they also experience and explore more heights and ways of their fields.

Moreover, this module gives the student more of practical experience of their field rather than books knowledge. They can easily experience what they are studying, so it gives the student a special type of connection with their studies and help them improve their professional capacity.

On the other hand, this early experience of work industry to studying abroad can effect their studies. For example, when they go abroad, the world their would appeal more in other context then studying, similarly, when they put their foot in work industry, they will prefer to make money then to learn their grounds.

overall, where this simple yet the most important step changes the lives of some in good way, it can also harm some of the most prominent students. However, in conclusion, this step is the need of today's world and it can have more positive impacts then the negetive ones.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad or doing work placements, and clearly states a position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Ideas are introduced and supported, such as mentioning practical experience and career prospects. However, some arguments tend to over-generalise or remain slightly under-developed, for instance, the assertion that distinct features get you 'no where'. The development of ideas lacks deeper extension, which aligns the response firmly with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate different aspects of the topic, such as advantages in the second and third paragraphs, and disadvantages in the fourth. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or faulty, as seen with transitions like 'Moreover' and 'On the other hand'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'having something like this' or 'the world their would appeal more'. This demonstrates the characteristics of Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'compatetive race' and 'professional capacity'. However, there are notable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'undergnute', 'distration', 'not onlu', 'under privilage', 'their' instead of 'there', and 'negetive'. These errors do not completely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the message, which reflects a Band 5.5 performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over structure. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues, such as subject-verb agreement problems ('every student want', 'get you no where'), preposition misuse, and awkward phrasing ('the world their would appeal more in other context then studying'). These errors can occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader, matching the standard described at Band 5.0.

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

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