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)

In recent years, 'All university undergraduates courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement' has a subject of considerable debate. While there are valid arguments on both sides, I believe that the benefits of studying abroad or doing a work placement included in courses, far outweigh the drawbacks.

There are several compelling reasons to support. The most significant is that, students get extensive experience and knowledge not just from their country, also from abroad. It enhances productivity and promotes sustainabilty. This is because too much interaction strengthen student's confidence and communication skills. For example, According to the reasearch conducted by the Western Sydney University, concluded that the universities that allowed students to spent time in studying abroad, gives more successful students to their country.

Furthermore, In Pakistan many students use online platforms and trying to move abroad for finfing a better work place. All of this will become the flawless procedure if universities take this bold step and extend the undergraduate courses by adding the abroad element.

Admittedly, there are some concerns associated with. One major drawback is that, students can loose their focus and adopt bad habbits, that can lead to addiction. For instance, a student from the GC university, move Australia with his friends, he wastes all his money and addicted with alcohol and now in Australian jail because of breaking the rules. Hwever, this issue can be mitigated by proper regulation and parental supervision, so it does not overshadow the positives.

In conclusion, although has cerytain disadvantages, I am convinced that its advantages are far more substantial. Therefore, its efficient use should be encouraged.

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 undergraduate courses, maintaining a clear position that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and uneven. While the introduction states a clear stance, the body paragraphs rely heavily on generalisations and unsupported assertions. For instance, the discussion of the benefits mentions productivity and sustainability, but fails to explain these concepts clearly within the context of studying abroad. Furthermore, the example provided from Western Sydney University is vague, and the counter-argument regarding a student getting into trouble in Australia is overly anecdotal and lacks academic focus. The conclusion reiterates the stance briefly. Overall, the task is addressed, but the supporting ideas require greater depth and extension to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion, showing a basic structural layout. However, logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and abrupt shifts in topic. For example, moving from academic and career benefits in the second paragraph directly to a vague reference about Pakistan in the third paragraph lacks a smooth logical bridge. Cohesive devices are sometimes used mechanically or inaccurately, such as 'There are several compelling reasons to support' without a clear object, and 'Furthermore, In Pakistan many students...' where the connection to the core topic is tenuous. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within paragraphs suffers from unclear referencing and abrupt sentence sequences. Overall, the essay displays some organisation, but lacks a clear overall progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student demonstrates a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task. There are several attempts to use less common items, such as 'productivity', 'sustainability', and 'regulation', but these are often used inaccurately or inappropriately in context. Additionally, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, such as 'undergraduates courses', 'sustainabilty', 'reasearch', 'finfing', 'loose' (instead of lose), 'habbits', and 'addicted with' (instead of addicted to). These errors require the reader to occasionally pause and interpret the intended meaning, and phrasing like 'flawless procedure' or 'addicted with alcohol' shows awkward collocation. The lexical range is sufficient to convey the basic message, but frequent inaccuracies constrain the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence structures. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors occurring across both simple and complex forms. Examples of structural and grammatical errors include 'has a subject of considerable debate' (missing subject), 'benefits of studying abroad or doing a work placement included in courses, far outweigh' (unnecessary comma separation and awkward modifier placement), 'universities that allowed students to spent time' (tense/form error), and 'although has cerytain disadvantages' (missing subject). Punctuation is also problematic, with incorrect capitalization after commas in phrases like 'Furthermore, In Pakistan'. These errors frequently cause some difficulty for the reader, though the core meaning of the sentences can generally be deciphered.

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