Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-23

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 recent years, studying abroad and doing internships become more popular in most of the countries. As it provides interational exposure to undergraduates and skills development which was very useful for there future life. There are so many advantages of this which outweigh the disadvantages, thats why now it become significant for universities to include work placements as well as a period of time studying abroad.

The most significant advantage of exchange programs included by universities in there curriculum is it provide international exposure to students. It brings both significant benefits as well as drawbacks. Primiraly, living independently, manage budgeting, cooking by own, saving money, studying alone and managing time develops enormous practical life skills in young individual.

Studying abroad most vitaly provided different career opportunities by opening various paths. Students choosing exchange program also get opportunity to introduced with different cultures and ethinicities which helps them develop confidence and provide them connections which may further help them in there future.

For instance, islamabad islamic university included 1 semester exchange program in there courses so, students get international exposure. This opportunity helps the learners developing different life skills and getting various career opportunies. Moreover, most of the universities also added work placement as a compulsory course in there curriculum which is a very good step as it provides real work exposure due to which undergraduates become efficient in balancing work and personal life and doing there official work more skillfully.

The only disadvantage of pursuing exchange program is the university freezes the ongoing semester and after returning from overseas students must continue and complete that semester which become hectic for most of the students it it prolonged there studies. Additionally, another drawback was the students also face some difficulty in living alone as the become home sick but they over come this feeling as they have to build strong future career so they must hav to struggle and work hard for that.

Hence, it is proved with the examples that the advantages of the definetly overweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including studying abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, and clearly states a position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Ideas are extended with examples, such as mentioning the Islamabad Islamic University, and the writer considers both practical life skills and drawbacks like extended study duration and homesickness. However, some arguments tend to over-generalise and lack deep development, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised, although some paragraphs mix multiple ideas, such as combining career opportunities with cultural exposure. Cohesive devices are used throughout, but referencing is sometimes faulty, such as in the opening paragraph where pronouns and transitions like 'thats why now it become' create mechanical or repetitive linkages. Progression is generally logical, leading to a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'international exposure', 'interdependent', and 'ethnicity' (though appearing as 'ethinicities'). However, there are notable word choice and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'primiraly', 'manage budgeting', 'cooking by own', and repeated grammatical-lexical slip-ups like 'there' instead of 'their'. These errors do not impede overall communication, reflecting the Band 6 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is quite weak. There are frequent tense and agreement errors, such as 'studying abroad and doing internships become' instead of 'have become', 'which was very useful', and 'it provide international exposure'. Punctuation and sentence boundary issues are also present, including comma splices and run-on sentences like 'so, students get international exposure.' These frequent errors limit the score to a Band 5.0.

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