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)

Every university student needs to spent a period of time studying abroad or doing a work placement. I think, it has a significant advantages, and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

At first, students become experienced with solving real-time problems studing abroad. If a university offers this types of privilage, a student from an ordinary background will be able access this opportunity. Visting new places mean getting to know new culture, new people, new ettiqates ,and manners. If the visit means going to abroad, one may even meet with new language. By this, the pupil will be able to learn how to communicate with a foreign culture. The famous Erusmundus schoolarship students get the opportunity of visiting four europian countries during their study period. As a result, most of the students become more smart and experienced.

Secondly, if internship is included in the course curriculam, students will be able to abide by the work environment policies. This will help them to shine in their future. They will be able to get hand in experience even before going to a workplace. Sometimes, by judging the students' efforts during their internship period, the company may offer them suiltable job in that firm. I have already seen some of my fellow classmates to be offered a good position in the firm, they used to internship.

However, to include these types of courses into the course curriculam cost a fortune. Sometimes, the students' family background discourages these types of activities. My cousin got the opportunity to go to a foreign country during her undergrad. But, her family did not give permisson to go.

In the conclusion, if the university can slove the money isuue by getting sponsors, the advantages outweighs

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially by presenting a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed. While the writer touches on gaining practical experience, cultural awareness, and financial obstacles, the explanation of these points remains superficial. For instance, the discussion of the Erasmus Mundus scholarship mentions visiting four European countries, but does not clearly link this back to how it outweighs the financial and logistical disadvantages mentioned later. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to extend and support all ideas fully throughout the response, ensuring that both the benefits and drawbacks are explored with greater depth and clearer examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation present in the essay, with clear attempts to divide the response into introduction, body paragraphs addressing advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. However, there is no clear overall progression due to abrupt transitions and mechanical use of cohesive devices, such as starting paragraphs with basic connectors like 'At first' and 'Secondly'. Furthermore, referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'the firm, they used to internship.' Paragraphing is attempted, but the final conclusion trails off incomplete, reflecting a breakdown in logical organisation at the very end. To improve, the writer should use a wider variety of cohesive devices more accurately and ensure each paragraph builds logically upon the previous one towards a fully formed conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'curriculam' and 'privilage', but these are marred by noticeable spelling errors. There are also frequent issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'hand in experience' instead of 'hands-on experience' and 'money isuue' instead of 'financial issue'. These lexical errors and awkward phrasings cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the vocabulary from feeling natural or precise. To achieve a higher score, the writer must expand their lexical range, pay closer attention to word forms and collocations, and eliminate basic spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic compound forms. Attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, containing noticeable errors in verb forms, tenses, and agreements, such as 'Every university student needs to spent' and 'studing abroad.' There are also issues with prepositions inside grammatical patterns and missing articles, as seen in 'go to abroad' and 'solves the money isuue.' These frequent errors cause strain and difficulty for the reader. To progress, the writer needs to increase their control over complex grammatical structures and ensure greater accuracy in basic verb patterns, plurals, and punctuation.

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