Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Total colleges bachelors programs should have a specific amount of international studies or getting a work experience. Although this method has certain drawbacks, I strongly believe that the disadvantages goes outweigh the advantages.

One major advantage is exposure of studies in international universities. Student can get different experience of classes and interaction of different peoples. For example, studying with different people internationally help to get networking this makes to leads to jobs placement internationally. Another benefit is student can get knowledge of different cultures while studying aboard. Such as, student knows how people abroad spend their Christmas day. Students can gain experience that they cannot get only from textbooks. For example, an IT student can work in a software company and learn how projects are actually managed.

However their are some disadvantages to consider, the biggest drawback could be so much expensive for example the total cost of studying in abroad could be more expensive rather than studying in own country. Additionally the type of diseases can occur while studying in aboard such as, homesickness and headache. Student do less focus on studies and try to explore new places in the abroad for instances students like to visit most attractive and popular cities in their towns where they are studying. More often Studying abroad can make students more independent and confident. for example, A student living abroad may need to manage accommodation, transportation and finances without their family.

In conclusion while studying abroad have advantages such as exposure, networking and culture experiences. In term of disadvantages is to costly , homesickness and less focus on studies so i strongly believe that the disadvantages goes outweigh the advantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the prompt by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad or completing a work placement during a university degree. However, there is a significant contradiction in the student's stance: the introduction and conclusion state that 'the disadvantages goes outweigh the advantages', yet the body paragraphs present several strong advantages and then confusingly list disadvantages that overlap with benefits (e.g., claiming 'Studying abroad can make students more independent' right after introducing disadvantages). Furthermore, ideas are somewhat repetitive and under-developed, relying on simplistic examples like knowing how people spend Christmas. Because the position is somewhat confused and ideas lack full development, this performance aligns best with Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into four paragraphs, showing an attempt at a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the internal cohesion is frequently faulty and mechanical. The student relies on basic transitional markers like 'One major advantage', 'Another benefit', and 'However their are', and the referencing between sentences is often unclear. For instance, the paragraph intended for disadvantages mistakenly includes a sentence about independence. Paragraphing is attempted, but the overall progression is disrupted by sudden shifts in topic and confusing contradictions, which limits the coherence to a Band 5.0 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently impeded by awkward word choices and collocation errors. Examples include phrases like 'Total colleges bachelors programs', 'exposure of studies', and describing homesickness and headache as 'types of diseases can occur'. While the student attempts less common vocabulary such as 'international studies', 'networking', and 'independence', these are often used inaccurately. Spelling and word-formation errors, such as 'goes outweigh' instead of 'outweigh' and 'to costly' instead of 'too costly', are noticeable and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, placing this response firmly in Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent attempts at complex structures that turn out faulty. There are persistent errors in basic grammar, including subject-verb agreement ('Student can get', 'student knows'), article usage ('in abroad', 'the abroad'), and preposition selection. For example, 'the disadvantages goes outweigh the advantages' and 'there are some disadvantages to consider, the biggest drawback could be so much expensive' demonstrate serious structural flaws and run-on tendencies. Because errors are frequent and occasionally obscure the intended meaning, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.

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

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