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)

Undergraduated university courses should give their student a proper time for studying abroad and doing work placement as it results for students development which normal sessons in their home country couldnot provide. As it is totally expensive and we have to manage lots of financial document to pursue the courses in abroad.

There are mainy advantages of studying or working in abroad country for students. They can gain lots of experience on the there career field as well as adapting to the forgain culture. Student are likely to meet with different people from all around the world learn about there culture, religion and gather knowledge from all over the world which develops their overall general knowledge. while they will be working in the different environment compare to there home country which will boost the knowledge they grab in the office or get to be friendly with new technology and gadgets.

However, the trend also has real disadvantages working or studying in forgain country can cost a lot of finance, as well as it is tottaly different and expensive to pursue the graduation and balance their daily life. In addition some student find difficult to adapt the working environment. which can lead to stress, and over pressure in working field.

On balance, I believe that advantages outweigh the disadvantages while finance and dissatisfaction is the common concorn. they can be managed through taking students loans and studying about how to adapt the forgain society and office environment?

In conclusion, Although it brings some difficulty its benefits for students are great. With sensable management the drawback can be reduced while the advantages are kept.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in university courses, culminating in a clear overall position that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The main ideas, such as career experience, cultural adaptation, and financial costs, are introduced and supported with relevant examples, such as student loans and adaptation strategies. However, some arguments remain somewhat repetitive and under-developed, particularly in the body paragraphs where points about culture and technology are briefly grouped together without deep elaboration. This performance aligns closely with the Band 6 descriptors, as the task is addressed with relevant ideas, but certain parts lack full development and clarity of support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing separating the introduction, advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'while they will be working in the different environment' lacks proper clause connection, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the dangling pronoun reference in 'some student find difficult to adapt the working environment. which can lead to stress'. Furthermore, logical progression between sentences within paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by punctuation errors and fragmented sentence structures. Overall, the organizational structure is visible and logical, matching the Band 6 criteria for cohesion and paragraphing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'financial document', 'forgain culture', and 'sensable management'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'Undergraduated' instead of 'Undergraduate', 'sessons', 'mainy', 'forgain' (repeatedly used for foreign), 'tottaly', and 'concorn'. These errors occasionally draw attention, but they do not severely impede communication. Because the writer demonstrates an adequate working vocabulary alongside frequent spelling and collocation inaccuracies, this performance corresponds to a Band 5.5 score, rounded here to 5.5 based on the descriptor balance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures frequently contain errors. Examples of grammatical and punctuation errors include subject-verb agreement issues ('Student are likely', 'some student find'), incorrect preposition use ('in abroad country'), and run-on or fragmented sentences (e.g., 'while finance and dissatisfaction is the common concorn. they can be managed...'). Punctuation is also misused, including misplaced periods and question marks where statements belong. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader at times, placing the writing squarely at Band 5.0, where frequent errors in complex structures persist.

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.