Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-24

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 the contemporary societies, more and more people around the world are taking admission in the university to get expertisement in the specific area of study. It is believed by some people that university undergraduates should be given the facility to spend some time studying in the foreign country or working in an organization. I firmly believe that this trend would have various benefits for students compared with its demerits.

To start with, studying abroad has many advantages for the university students related to improving language skills. Although, academic lessons, assignments, and presentation at the university have their significance to develop confidence and to gain deep knowledge, spending some time in the foreign country would give them opportunity to communicate with people from diverse cultures. As a result, undergraduates would be able to develop their communication skills, and how to manage and deal with people in real environment. For instance, some people feel shy when they start their professional life and feel confused during communication. therefore, this problem can be easily resolved by this step.

Besides, working as a volunteer has far more benefits than just reading books and gaining knowledge about different topics. It is evident that dealing and coping with problems in a real environment is completely different from getting education about that particular skill. To cite an example, when students after graduation apply for jobs, businesses require some useful skills from them which they have to develop and pass through challenging times. Therefore, developing these skills beforehand can save their time and additional effort after graduation.

Admittedly, I strongly believe that this trend would be very advantageous due to its benefits such as working on personal growth by developing language and work-related skills, and making oneself confident of real situations. For instance, giving less time to listening a lecture is something a person can manage with, however, performing poorly at workplace would be disadvantageous for an individual as well as society.

To conclude, it is very beneficial for undergraduates to spend some time studying abroad or working at a workplace for developing personal and professional skills instead of just memorising things and attending classes, and therefore, its advantages outweigh its disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including a study abroad or work placement period in university undergraduate courses, ultimately taking a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The student presents relevant ideas, such as improving language skills, gaining communication experience, and developing practical work skills. However, some ideas are slightly repetitive, particularly in the third body paragraph and the conclusion, where points regarding personal and professional growth are reiterated without introducing new dimensions. While the position is clear throughout, the development of ideas leans towards generalisations rather than fully extended specific examples. This performance aligns well with the Band 6.5 to 7.0 descriptors, and given the clear stance and well-covered main parts of the prompt, a score of 6.5 is appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and conclusion. Each paragraph has a discernible central topic, such as language skills in the second paragraph and practical experience in the third. The student uses a variety of cohesive devices to link ideas, including transition markers like 'To start with', 'Besides', and 'To conclude'. However, some cohesive devices and referencing are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as starting a clause with 'therefore' following a comma in the middle of a sentence, as seen in 'therefore, this problem can be easily resolved'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, but the overall flow could be enhanced with more sophisticated transitional phrasing. These features fit the Band 6.0 to 6.5 profile, and a band score of 6.0 is awarded.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'contemporary societies', 'expertisement', and 'professional life'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'taking admission in the university' instead of 'enrolling at university' and 'expertisement' instead of 'expertise' or 'specialisation'. Spelling and word-choice errors do not impede communication, but they highlight limitations in control over more advanced vocabulary. Because the student has a sufficient range to communicate clearly despite these lexical slips and awkward collocations, the response satisfies the criteria for Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as 'Although, academic lessons... would give them opportunity...' and 'businesses require some useful skills from them which they have to develop'. However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation inaccuracies, including missing articles ('in foreign country'), incorrect prepositions ('listening a lecture'), and comma splices or faulty capitalisation ('therefore, this problem'). While these errors are noticeable and require some effort from the reader, they rarely impede overall communication. The presence of both complex structures and frequent minor grammatical errors places this response solidly at Band 6.0.

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