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)

In recent years, all university undergraduate courses have included a period of time a student has to spent studying abroad or doing a work placement as course has become increasingly common. Although this development has some disadvantages, I believe that its advantages are greater because it can give a student with practical hands-on-work and cultural awareness.

There are several disadvantages associated with undergraduate students learning abroad or doing work placement as a course work. One major drawback is academic disruption. This is mainly because it already takes student a lot effort to adjust in their university, and then leaving it for course and adjusting somewhere else becomes a hurdle. Moreover, the language, culture, food differences would be biggest concern for a student. For example a Pakistani student who only knows Urdu and English, for him to study or work in Germany or turkey will be challenging because of the language barrier. As a result, it will be problem for a student to adapt the new country and hence, wont be able to focus on work.

However, I believe the advantages are more significant. One major benefit is that student can get practical knowledge of his field. They can get an opportunity to professionally work in their career fields, and work with experts of that field. For instance, a tech students can learn a lot in America which has the Silicon valley, a hub of IT industry. Consequently, it can be beneficial for their profession and enhance their professional knowledge. Another, important advantage is that they can get a chance to experience cross-cultures. Living abroad can give you knowledge about how other people live.

In conclusion, although a university undergraduate student spending studying or doing work placements as a course has some drawbacks, I believe its advantages outweigh its disadvantages because a student can get professional knowledge and get chance to learn different lifestyles.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including studying abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, and presents a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are generally relevant, but some points lack full development. For instance, the paragraph on disadvantages mentions academic disruption and language barriers and provides a relevant example of a Pakistani student, but the discussion remains somewhat broad. Similarly, the advantages are supported by mentioning career benefits and cross-cultural experiences, such as referencing Silicon Valley for IT students, which effectively extends the ideas. Overall, the response meets the criteria for Band 6.0 as it addresses all parts of the task with relevant ideas, though some development is slightly restricted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Information and ideas are logically sequenced, moving appropriately from the disadvantages to the advantages. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct themes. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty or mechanical, with some awkward transitions and referencing issues, such as "for him to study or work in Germany or turkey" and repetitive use of transitional markers like "Moreover" and "Consequently." Paragraphs generally maintain a clear central topic, but the internal logical flow could be smoother. These features correspond to a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and subject-specific phrases such as "academic disruption," "practical hands-on-work," and "cross-cultures." However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word formation throughout the text. Examples include "a student has to spent" instead of 'spend', "doing work placement as a course work," and "adapt the new country" rather than 'adapt to'. There are also minor capitalization errors, such as "turkey." These lexical errors do not impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ("it already takes student a lot effort"), incorrect verb forms ("has to spent"), and awkward phrasing in complex structures ("a university undergraduate student spending studying or doing work placements"). Punctuation and article usage also show occasional lapses. Despite these errors, the meaning is generally clear and they rarely impede overall communication, which aligns with the descriptors for a Band 6.0.

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

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