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 often argued that studying abroad or work placement should be included at the university . The situation has both advantages and disavantages, wich will be discussed in this essay .

On the one hand, one of the main advantages is that studying abroad and job placement improve career, it create opportunities and jobs in the future also it is very helpil to make relationship with other from différent countries. This mainly that it can help students to be more responsable and more relaxing to make a conisance with people in the same domain and get a expérience from work. For example, travelling to the US for study or working there it is very good expérience it makes the student to make relationship with russian, italian and american. It very useful to learn a new skills and work in huge campanies with a high salaries, it improve languages.

On the other hand, one important disadvantage is that study abroad can makes the students too far from their families, whereas working also creats health problems and stress. This means that the students feel bored and make him with less energy, in addition hard working can also create a pressure and stress. For instance, someone from Algeria choose to study in France that reduce the face to face contact with his family. But I think the benifice of this would outweigh the drawbacks.

In conclusion, the studying abroad or doing a work placement has both advantages and disadvantages. Overall, it can be benificial, but it also has some drawbacks.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including studying abroad or a work placement in undergraduate courses, and provides a clear concluding position. However, the development of ideas is limited and at times repetitive. For instance, the discussion of career benefits mentions that 'it create opportunities and jobs in the future also it is very helpil', but the points remain somewhat general and under-developed. Examples provided, such as 'travelling to the US for study or working there', are quite basic and lack depth. While all parts of the task are touched upon, the supporting arguments require further elaboration and clearer explanation to achieve a higher band score. Overall, the task is addressed, but the extension of ideas is restricted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into four paragraphs, showing a basic attempt at structuring an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and mechanical cohesive devices. For example, the use of 'This mainly that it can help...' creates confusion and breaks the flow of ideas. Paragraphing is present, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs lacks clarity, particularly in the second body paragraph where sentences jump between family distance and health problems without smooth links. Referencing is also sometimes unclear, as seen in phrases like 'make him with less energy'. Overall, the organization is discernible but displays significant faults in cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with several errors in word formation and collocation. Examples of lexical errors include 'disavantages' (disadvantages), 'helpil' (helpful), 'conisance' (acquaintance), and 'benifice' (benefits). While the student attempts less common vocabulary such as 'work placement' and 'campanies' (companies), these attempts are frequently marred by spelling and word-choice inaccuracies. The range of vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey simple ideas, but frequent errors in spelling and awkward collocations place a strain on the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic complex forms that are often faulty. There are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('it create opportunities', 'study abroad can makes the students'), missing prepositions, and incorrect verb forms ('studying abroad or doing a work placement has...'). Punctuation is also problematic, notably with spacing before commas and periods. Although some simple sentences are accurate, frequent errors in complex structures cause difficulty for the reader and impede the clarity of communication at times.

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

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