Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-25

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)

Education that is taught outside the classroom or incorporates practical experience is considered more effective than taught inside a confined classroom. Therefore, University courses should include a period of time which will involve studying abroad or work placement.

During graduation, students enroll in many courses which involve both core courses and optional courses. Traditionally, teachers teach in a confined classroom and provide some materials. Besides, students usually attend the classes for attendance and don't follow the material properly. In order to remove their monotony, incorporating a term or period of time studying in other countries or working as an intern in relevant sector can be a convenient solution. Consequently, this will boost them and help them to gather new experiences while pursuing the course. In this way, learning will be more effective and students will learn them without just skimming the lines from books.

Nevertheless, implementation of this initiative will require a huge amount of budget. Govt. University will require more financial aid from the government. Furthermore, private university will need to charge more tuition fee and registration fees from the students which will create a burden on them. Eventually, this will create financial crisis if the student has to bear the expenses.

Away from the financial issue, this can be a great initiative which will involve direct learning environment for the students as well as provide a incredible opportunity of gather new experiences from the abroad. They will get the privilege to get in touch with professors of foreign countries and guidance from them will help to achieve their career goal in the long run.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

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. The writer takes a clear position, indicating that the advantages outweigh the financial and logistical disadvantages. Ideas are generally well-developed, such as the explanation of how traditional classroom monotony is removed and how students gain direct professional guidance from foreign professors. However, some points could be extended further with more concrete examples rather than general statements like 'gather new experiences from the abroad.' Overall, the task is addressed competently and fits well within the Band 6.5 to 7.0 range, achieving a solid 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving from the introduction to the benefits, followed by the financial drawbacks, and concluding with a balanced final thought. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Therefore,' 'Besides,' 'Consequently,' and 'Nevertheless,' though some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive in structure. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes, such as contrasting the benefits in the second paragraph with the financial challenges in the third paragraph. Referencing is mostly clear, contributing to an easy-to-follow flow for the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common lexical items such as 'monotony,' 'financial crisis,' and 'privilege.' However, there are some word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the response, such as writing 'taught inside a confined classroom' instead of 'in a traditional classroom,' 'relevant sector' instead of 'a relevant sector,' and 'experiences from the abroad' instead of 'experiences abroad.' Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication, placing the response securely in the Band 6 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over clause structures through the use of subordinate clauses introduced by 'which,' 'if,' and 'while.' However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'Education that is taught outside the classroom... is considered more effective than taught inside,' 'students will learn them without just skimming,' and 'Govt. University will require.' Punctuation and article usage also show occasional lapses, such as missing articles ('a huge amount of budget,' 'increase tuition fee'). Despite these errors, meaning is rarely impeded, supporting a Band 6 score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.