Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-30

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)

It is very difficult for students to manage study and work at the same time. All universities should include a period of time spend aborad or giving them opportunities for work placements in their or country or in abroad as well.

Advantages are very much common. All the students are facing almost similar type of problem which includes both financial and logistical issues. Studying abroad helps them gaining experiences which ehnances student's academic, professional and personal development.

One major advantage is that it helps students to understand different cultures, educational systems and way of thinking.

Which improves their mind and helps in gaining overall exposure to understand everything.

Another advantage is that it helps to improve communicational skills.

Working abroad helps students to understand their work culture and helps the students to apply their academic experience in their work. It helps students to understand labour market, communicate with colleagues, meet new responsibilities and came to know how to handle pressure and solve tasks at the same time.

For example, a cousin of mine is living abroad as international student and facing the same thing includes both financial and time management. And don't have any financial aid from his university. Which effects his mind, study and work.

Studying abroad and doing work there costs alot which most of the students could not afford, the universities should have taken initiatives to provide financial aids to the students and helps them finding good jobs with helpful paychecks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the prompt regarding whether the advantages of studying abroad or doing work placements outweigh the disadvantages. However, the response falls short of the 250-word minimum requirement at 244 words, which limits the depth of the discussion. While some relevant ideas are introduced—such as cultural understanding, communication skills, and practical work experience—the position is not always clearly maintained or supported. For instance, the paragraph discussing financial and logistical issues introduces the cousin's example rather disjointedly, shifting into a focus on disadvantages without explicitly weighing them against the benefits to conclude whether the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. Ideas are underdeveloped, leading to a Band 5.0 level of task achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay lacks clear logical progression and cohesive control. Paragraphing is weak, with many single-sentence paragraphs (e.g., 'Which improves their mind and helps in gaining overall exposure to understand everything.' and 'Another advantage is that it helps to improve communicational skills.') that disrupt the flow. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as starting sentences with 'Which' or 'And'. Although there is an overall attempt to structure the essay with an introduction, body points, and a conclusion, the mechanical nature of the cohesion and poor paragraph structuring pull this criterion down to a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with noticeable errors in word choice and collocation. Examples include spelling errors like 'aborad' and 'ehnances', and awkward phrases such as 'helpful paychecks' and 'costs alot'. While the student attempts less common vocabulary such as 'logistical issues' and 'professional and personal development', inaccuracy in usage restricts the range. The lexical errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. This performance aligns closely with the Band 5.0 descriptors for Lexical Resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures, heavily relying on simple sentences interspersed with faulty attempts at complex ones. Frequent grammatical errors are present, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'the universities should have taken initiatives... helps them'), fragment sentences starting with relative pronouns ('Which improves their mind...'), and tense inconsistencies. These errors can cause some difficulty for the reader, although basic meaning usually remains retrievable. This warrants a Band 5.0 for Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

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