Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-22
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)
In such a globalization, where world's education system has been changed by taking different crucial steps. Some people think that there must be some period of time in all undergraduate courses in which students go abroad for studing or to do some work.This essay will throws light on whether advantages are more than disadvantages of the this step along with my opinion.
Studing abroad provide a sense of exploring new learning techniques. The difference in education system of two countries and taking education in these countries can provide students well aware of different methods of education. Moving to other area for education can help to aware the culture, language and norms of that area. By doing work in oversea countries students can learn the value of money. This is also a essential step for students knowledge. For instance, A student go to abroad on the bases of study exchange program, he/she will learn new education methods along with the knowledge of their culture. It will fresh student's mind and make him desire to study with full energy to cope the drawbacks of his current country's education sysytem.
On the other hand, having such type of courses can provide stress to students. Average students who are not good in studies have to deal with anxiety and stress to enrole in such courses because of their study level. These courses can be expensive that can lead to stress of the middle class families. For example, a student can not be able to afford these courses due to his/her family living condition. It will disapoint the student as well as his family.
In conclusion, having an inexpensive course in universites can provide students with lots of benefits that can help them in future as well.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, and it presents a clear position throughout. The ideas are relevant and supported with explanations, such as exploring new learning techniques and the financial stress on middle-class families. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed, and the conclusion is rather abrupt, failing to summarize the main arguments fully. For instance, the discussion on financial stress relies on a brief example without exploring the broader implications. The writer attempts to cover the prompt adequately, aligning well with the requirements for a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing separating the introduction, advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, transitional phrases are occasionally awkward, such as 'This essay will throws light on' and 'On the other hand, having such type of courses'. Referencing is not always clear, as seen in the sentence 'For instance, A student go to abroad on the bases of study exchange program, he/she...', where punctuation and pronoun referencing disrupt the flow. Overall progression is visible, but the cohesive devices require greater flexibility and precision to reach a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'globalization', 'crucial steps', and 'exchanges program'. However, there are numerous noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and collocation throughout the text, including 'studing' instead of 'studying', 'throws light' (grammatically incorrect verb form 'throws'), 'oversea' instead of 'overseas', 'on the bases' instead of 'on the basis', and 'disapoint' instead of 'disappoint'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they restrict the score to a Band 5.5 due to the frequency of lexical inaccuracies.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some capability with subordinate clauses and conditional ideas. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing that persist throughout the text. Examples include 'In such a globalization, where world's education system has been changed' (fragmented and inaccurate article usage), 'provide a sense of' instead of 'provides', 'A student go to abroad' (tense and preposition error), 'can not be able to' (redundancy), and 'sysytem' (spelling/typographical error). These errors occur frequently, though they rarely impede overall communication, placing the grammatical performance firmly at a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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