Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29

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 5.0)

The undergraduate univesity programmes should include the time for studying and work

placements

Studing abroad in university programmes helps a petson lot for making there carrers they will get a lot of intership programmes which helps them in getting good jobs on companies it also reduces there mental stress getting placements

after studies also plays a big role in shapeing there future They will get chances to show there skills on different plateforms with the help of these placement they make there self financially strong they can use this money gor there further

studies They will also have a oppertunity to learn different culture This will help them to become infependent and helps in problem solving placement programmes opens different paths and oppertunities

It wil also leads to several disadvsntages This will put extra burden on there pockets also because nowdays its very expensive all around the world The university fees is increased everone is not able to pay the fees this will not fair with other graduates who are unable to take this advantage The other big drawback is housing that also not affordable by everyone some universities also donthave proper resources to provide to the students lack of infrastructure and staff also In some aspects

its also clear that placements are happen on merit bases so everyone will not be able to get that.

In conclusion we can say that studying and working abroad gives you a lot of oppertunities

to get good jobs and earn good but it also put a financial amd memtal burden on peoples who are willing to choose but for somereasons they are unable to do that.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses both the advantages and disadvantages of including studying abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, fulfilling the core requirements of the prompt. A position is discernible throughout the essay, concluding that while there are significant career and developmental benefits, the financial and mental burdens are notable drawbacks. However, the ideas are relatively undeveloped and lack sufficient extension or specific examples from the student's own knowledge or experience. Phrases like 'they will get a lot of intership programmes' and 'housing that also not affordable by everyone' present relevant thoughts, but these points remain brief and somewhat repetitive. The response meets the minimum length requirement, yet the lack of deep explanation and support places this performance within the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range. Because the arguments are stated rather than fully elaborated, a band score of 5.5 is appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay displays a basic structural framework with an introduction, a body paragraph for advantages, a body paragraph for disadvantages, and a brief conclusion. However, the internal cohesion within paragraphs is faulty and mechanical. The text lacks basic punctuation such as periods and capital letters between sentences, resulting in massive run-on sentences like 'Studing abroad in university programmes helps a petson lot for making there carrers they will get a lot of intership programmes which helps them in getting good jobs on companies it also reduces there mental stress getting placements after studies also plays a big role in shapeing there future.' Cohesive devices are minimal or inaccurate, with simple conjunctions like 'and' or 'also' overused to link disparate thoughts. Paragraphing is attempted, but the severe lack of punctuation heavily disrupts logical progression and readability. This corresponds closely to Band 4.5 or 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The student uses a limited and repetitive range of vocabulary suited to basic communication. Words are frequently misspelled or misused, such as 'univesity', 'petson', 'carrers', 'intership', 'shapeing', 'plateforms', 'infependent', 'oppertunity', and 'disadvsntages'. While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary items like 'infrastructure', 'resources', and 'merit bases', the high frequency of spelling and word-choice errors impedes smooth reading and occasionally causes confusion. The phrasing lacks precision and stylistic awareness, which is characteristic of a Band 4.5 performance. Although the lexical scope is minimally adequate to convey the main thesis, the persistent mechanical and spelling errors prevent the response from achieving a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The grammatical range is extremely limited, relying heavily on simple clauses strung together without proper punctuation. There is a total absence of full stops and correct sentence boundaries throughout the entire essay, making it appear as a series of comma splices and run-on sentences. Complex sentence structures are rarely attempted, and when they are, they are faulty in construction, such as 'This will put extra burden on there pockets also because nowdays its very expensive all around the world.' Furthermore, grammatical errors are frequent and pervasive, including pronoun agreement issues ('there' instead of 'their', 'them' or 'they'), missing articles, and subject-verb agreement failures ('placements are happen', 'universities also donthave'). These frequent structural and punctuation errors severely restrict readability, warranting a Band 4.0.

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