Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-02

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 undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement. It is need of hour to include the period of work placement or studying abroad in undergarduate programs. As the time changes quickly, the dimensions of world is changing real fast.

In this time, students should have a on-hand expriences rather than just books or notes crammings. Students should enagage themselves with the different communities and ethinicities to explore more about the actual work place rather than just a classroom environment.

The studying aboard concept is well-known in world already, many students use exchange programs courses to build their profile stronger and better. Study abroad option is much better as students will have a new exposures in new communities and surrondings. The meeting and working with different people and students can increase the mind-set of people.

There will be disadvantge as well. After studing abroad, many students tries to settle in these countries rather than move back to their native country. Eventually, it will lead to the barin drain of bright students.

Work placememt is also a good strategy to make students aware to the outside of world. Students must have on-hand expriences for the market places. Students should know about the upcoming challenges they will face during their jobs. Job pressure often leads to depression and many other mental diseases. Students have right to know about the challanges, they have to face during thier career.

So, in conclusion both strategies are good to make student fimilar with upcoming challenges. The advantages of both can outweigh the disadvantages as students should have to explore the world and its limitiations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both studying abroad and work placements, presenting a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. However, the development of ideas remains limited and under-developed. For instance, the point regarding brain drain is introduced briefly without sufficient extension or supporting examples. Similarly, the discussion on work placements mentions job pressure and mental health, but these thoughts are not fully expanded to explore their direct impact on the overall proposition. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to present fully extended ideas with more thorough explanations and relevant examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a recognisable overall structure, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing each concept, and a brief conclusion. However, the progression of ideas lacks clarity at times, as transitions between sentences and paragraphs feel abrupt. Cohesive devices are used in a somewhat repetitive or mechanical manner, such as the frequent reliance on 'rather than just' and basic connectors like 'So, in conclusion'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the sentence 'After studing abroad, many students tries to settle in these countries...'. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion requires more logical linking to ensure a smooth flow of thought throughout the essay.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'brain drain', 'ethnicities', and 'exchange programs', but these attempts are accompanied by noticeable errors in word form, choice, and spelling. Examples include 'studing' instead of studying, 'expriences' instead of experiences, 'crammings', and 'fimilar'. These lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'on-hand expriences' and 'mind-set of people', cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted control of word choices and spelling conventions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a limited range of structures, with frequent errors in basic and attempted complex sentences. There are noticeable issues with subject-verb agreement, such as 'many students tries', and incorrect article usage or missing prepositions, as in 'outside of world' and 'during thier career'. Punctuation and word forms within grammatical patterns also show frequent inaccuracies, such as 'It is need of hour'. These errors occur consistently throughout the response and can cause strain and difficulty for the reader in interpreting the intended meaning.

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