Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

All university courses offered for undergraduate programes must add a time period for studying abroad or doing a workplacement. Some think that it has some disadvantages but i think that its benifits are more than its drawbacks.

Firstly, when students get the opportunity to study abroad then it have huge impact in their future success. For example when a student goes abroad its exposure increases. When student meet other people of foregin contury than he gain new ideas about his field. Education of every country is different from other, consequently their approach to different tasks is different. So meeting with new people gives you confidence and different sight to look at things. This can be very helpful for students to make achivements in future.

Similarly workplacements are also crucial for quality education. Workplacements helps students to understand what they are learning. They gives students the practical approach of subject. For example when students go to work places they got to know about their field. They become aware of something that is beyond scope of a classroom enviroment. This will polish them and enables them to persue career more efficiently.

In contrast some people think that there is no need of foregin study or workplacement for students. They argue that it is costly for most of parents to sent their children abroad furthermore study in abroad is same as study in same university. Secondly, they argue workplacements are waste of time. Students gain nothing from work placements.

To conclude. I say there are some benifits of study abroad and work placements that cannot be ignored. These opportunities gave students practical insight of their subject and help them to get better opportunities in future. There are also some drawbacks but very less as compare to its benifits.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate programs, and clearly states a position. The ideas are relevant and supported with explanations, such as the exposure gained from meeting foreign peers and the practical insights provided by work placements. However, some arguments tend to be a bit repetitive or under-developed, falling short of the extended depth required for a Band 7. For instance, the counterargument paragraph is brief and generalised. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate main ideas, such as studying abroad, work placements, and counterarguments. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is occasionally vague, such as 'when a student goes abroad its exposure increases' where pronouns lack clear agreement. Transitional phrases are basic (e.g., 'Firstly', 'Similarly', 'In contrast'), demonstrating a straightforward organizational structure. Progression is generally logical, placing the essay comfortably at Band 6.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'exposure', 'practical approach', and 'enviroment'. However, there are several spelling errors throughout the text, including 'programes', 'benifits', 'foregin', 'contury', 'achivements', 'Workplacements', and 'persue'. Word choice is sometimes simplistic or imprecise, such as 'its benifits are more than its drawbacks' rather than 'outweigh the disadvantages'. While these errors do not impede communication, their frequency prevents the score from reaching a Band 6.5 or 7, placing this criterion solidly at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with attempts at subordination and relative clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and articles (e.g., 'then it have huge impact', 'When student meet', 'study in abroad is same as study in same university', 'most of parents'). Punctuation is also faulty in places, notably with sentence fragments like 'To conclude. I say...'. Although the meaning remains understandable, the density of grammatical inaccuracies keeps the performance at a Band 5.0.

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