Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01

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, there has been a growing debate over whether the field work or studying abroad should be a core module for university undergraduate courses or is not compulsory. While there are certain drawbacks to sending students abroad and industry work, I believe the advantages far outweigh them.

One of the main benefits of including a time span for domain work in undergraduate courses is students get exposure to real-world and industry demands which they cannot get from theoratical courses. This is particularly important because subjects and teaching methods that have been used to students are now lagging behind from technology, whereas the

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum length requirement, containing only 104 words instead of the required 250 words. Because of this severe truncation, the task is addressed only minimally. While the writer attempts to introduce a position in the introduction regarding whether studying abroad or doing industry work should be compulsory, the ideas are severely limited and cut off mid-sentence. The arguments presented in the second paragraph are barely touched upon before the text ends abruptly. To reach higher bands, the writer must fully develop relevant ideas with clear supporting explanations and examples, ensuring the full essay length is achieved.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organization evident, such as a rudimentary introduction and an initial attempt to open a body paragraph with a clear topic sentence like 'One of the main benefits of including a time span for domain work...'. However, because the text stops abruptly after just over 100 words, there is no clear overall progression or conclusion. Cohesive devices are minimal, and referencing is partially established but incomplete due to the truncated nature of the response. To improve in this area, the writer needs to structure multiple well-developed paragraphs linked with appropriate cohesive devices to ensure a logical flow throughout the entire essay.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used shows a minimally adequate range for the task, attempting some less common collocations such as 'domain work', 'real-world', and 'industry demands'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasings, such as 'time span for domain work' and 'theoratical courses' (spelling error). These choices show an attempt to use varied terminology, but the control is inconsistent. To achieve a higher band, the writer must expand their vocabulary range and use less common lexical items with greater precision and correct spelling, ensuring natural collocations throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, as seen in the multi-clause opening sentence 'While there are certain drawbacks to sending students abroad and industry work, I believe...'. However, there is a limited range of structures successfully controlled, and errors are present, such as awkward prepositions and phrasing in 'teaching methods that have been used to students are now lagging behind from technology'. Frequent errors and awkward syntactic choices can cause some difficulty for the reader. To progress, the writer should aim for a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences and refine their control over grammatical patterns and prepositions.

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

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