Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-03

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)

It is often discussed for all university undergrads that courses should comprises a short period studying abroad or work placement. In my opinion, this would have numerous advantages thann disadvantages because it would bring more benefits to student and also contribute in the development of various daily life crucial skills and will prepare them for future challanges.

It is very crucial for the future of the students because studying abroad would give them a feeling of being self-dependent and they would learn to communucate to others freely without any hesitation. For instance, in countries like India, it is often seen in undergraduates that they lack various important skills because they are not used to be free and are mostly dependent on their parents for every basic need and even lack communication skills.Thus, including sometime studying abroad or performing a work placement in course would be very beneficial for children's future.

Another important factor is that, introducing these important activities in courses of a university would enhance their experience, it is due to the fact that theyb will be more exposed to the outside world and will add a new type of experience in their memory which will be important for their future. To illustrate, a student experiencing a whole new life on its own, while getting to know the world and experiencing all the problems and dealing them would be a new thing for the pupil and will prepare them for their future. Thus, it will enhance a pupil's experience and will have various pros.

In conclusion, it would be highly beneficial for the students to introduce new activities to boost their performance and preparing them for future challanges.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, taking a clear position that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. However, the development of ideas remains limited and under-developed. For instance, while the writer mentions that studying abroad fosters self-dependence and communication skills, this point is supported mostly by generalisations and repetition regarding Indian students rather than extended logical reasoning. The conclusion briefly reiterates the thesis without adding fresh perspective. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to provide more fully elaborated arguments and deeper analysis of both sides of the issue.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised to separate distinct ideas, such as the development of self-dependence in the second paragraph and broader experiential benefits in the third. Nonetheless, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, relying heavily on basic transitional phrases like 'To illustrate' and 'Thus' at the start of multiple sentences. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as pronoun use referring back to plural and singular nouns interchangeably. To improve further, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure smoother logical transitions between sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, providing enough terms to convey the basic message, but the range is limited and imprecise. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'self-dependent' and 'crucial skills', but these are accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and spelling, such as 'thann', 'communucate', and 'challanges'. These inaccuracies occasionally cause minor difficulty for the reader. To elevate the lexical score, the writer needs to expand their range of vocabulary, improve word formation, and ensure accurate spelling and natural collocation throughout the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple or overly repetitive complex forms that are often faulty. There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, such as subject-verb agreement issues in 'courses should comprises', prepositional errors like 'dependent on their parents', and awkward phrasing such as 'are not used to be free'. These frequent errors place a strain on the reader. To achieve a higher score, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex structures with greater control, ensuring that error-free sentences become much more common.

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