Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-28
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)
There is a huge proportion of under-graduate students, who are in the search of such a university which offers them a specific time-line spent over studying overseas or doing the internship in a company as work placement. Like every coin has two sides just like that this idea has both advantages and dis-advantages.
The major reason that student opt for such an idea is to have global exposure and meet new cultures and traditions that are difficult to search within your own country. Making new friends of totally opposite culture is commennding and it assists the individual to interact and socialize out of their comfort zone. Another thoughtful reason can be that appreciating compaines give handsome salary to the international student because they known that such students have the experience of new people in a new country. For example, if a company has to choose between two individual who have same degree but one of them had earned this degree abroad and other in his own home country, the company will definetly choose the one who pursed his degree overseas.
On the other hand, if we talk about the disadvantages of pursuing studies or working overseas can be home sickness because some people can not handle any extreme condition without the support of their family. Living alone, thousands of kilometer apart from our family can be challenging. Second thing is management of food, which is essential for survival some student faces struggle in cooking the three meals of a day.
In the conclusion, I am of the opinion that an under-graduate student must experience such global exposure because this experience lasts as a life-time memory. Living apart from family for fulfiling your own dreams can be challenging but not impossible.
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 prompt, discussing both the advantages, such as global exposure and career progression, and disadvantages, including homesickness and basic living challenges. A clear position is stated in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. However, some ideas are a bit under-developed and rely on generalisations rather than fully extended argumentation or deeply specific examples. For instance, the discussion on companies preferring international graduates is somewhat simplistic. Nevertheless, the main task requirements are met adequately, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor where all parts are addressed and relevant ideas are presented, though some lack depth.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs addressing both sides, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as moving from benefits to drawbacks. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or awkwardly phrased, such as 'Like every coin has two sides just like that this idea' and 'Second thing is management of food'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and logical progression within paragraphs could be smoother. These issues place the response firmly in the Band 6 category, where cohesion is sometimes faulty and referencing is not always clear.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate to the academic topic, utilising terms like 'global exposure', 'under-graduate', 'socialize', and 'homesickness'. However, there are several noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'commennding' instead of commendable, 'compaines', 'definetly', 'pursed' instead of pursued, and 'kilometer'. Collocations are occasionally unnatural, such as 'appreciating compaines give handsome salary'. Despite these limitations, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the intended meaning without severely impeding communication, which is characteristic of a Band 6 performance.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional structures and relative clauses. There are, however, frequent grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('student opt', 'student faces struggle'), missing articles ('in the search of such a university'), and awkward phrasing ('people can not handle any extreme condition'). While these errors are noticeable and require the reader to occasionally pause, they do not completely impede communication. This balance of mixed structures and persistent errors fits the Band 6 descriptor well.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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