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)

It is argued that all the university graduate courses should include an extra period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement.

Overall this activity has several advantages and few disadvantages. This essay is in favour of this activity and will explain all the facts that support this idea.

The age of student at undergraduate level is the most critical age of life because after the undergraduation alot of people have to come into practical life and start their professional career. So, this is very crucial to plan that time period of their life. Having an extra period of time that spent to discuss about studying abroad and about work roles will make their lives easier. Additionally, in this way students will start taking their study seriously and will start to plan their next move befor the studies end. Once their study period over they will not be confused instead they will be ready to start their next move. For-example if some students take the guidance about studying abroad, like which is the best country to study, which is the best course or even about university, then by the end of their graduation they will easily choose the best destination for themselves. Similarly if someone wants to start their job instead of further studying, he will learn about all the companies where he can start his job.

On the other hand, this activity has quite few disadvantages as well. The most importantvis the distraction of students from their degree, as students will become more interested in future and their grades can be suffer. so it will be important to keap balance between current life and future.

So, in my opinion this idea should be supported and undergraduate courses should include a period of time studying abroad.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including a period for studying abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, and states a clear position in favour of the idea. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat superficial. For instance, the discussion on advantages focuses broadly on students planning their futures and avoiding confusion after graduation, but it lacks specific, well-developed examples or deep elaboration. The counter-argument regarding distractions and falling grades is stated briefly in the final body paragraph without sufficient extension. Despite these limitations in depth, all parts of the task are addressed, and a consistent position is maintained throughout the essay, aligning the response comfortably with Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is structured with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion, representing a coherent overall arrangement. Paragraphing is attempted, although the body paragraphs are somewhat dense and unstructured in places. Logical progression is visible, as the writer moves from introducing the topic to discussing advantages, followed by disadvantages and a personal conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. Words and phrases such as 'Overall this activity', 'So, this is very crucial', and 'On the other hand' are used, but referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'this activity' is used broadly to refer to the integration of studying abroad and work placements). Transitional links are basic, and some sentences lack smooth connections, placing this performance in Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their general meaning. There are attempts to use less common and topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'undergraduate level', 'professional career', and 'practical life'. However, there are numerous lexical errors, awkward word choices, and typos throughout the text, including 'graduate courses' instead of undergraduate courses, 'alot', 'befor', 'For-example', 'importantvis', and 'keap'. These inaccuracies indicate a limited control over spelling and word formation. While communication is not severely impeded, the frequency of lexical slips and basic phrasing prevents the response from reaching a higher band, making Band 5.0 the most accurate descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure with clauses introduced by 'because', 'once', and 'if'. However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in article usage, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'The age of student at undergraduate level' (student should be plural), 'time that spent' (passive voice error), 'their grades can be suffer' (modal verb error), and punctuation errors like missing spaces and incorrect capitalization ('so it will be important to keap balance'). Despite these frequent errors, the meaning is usually retrievable, which supports a Band 5.0 rating rather than a lower one.

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

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