Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-04
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)
Some people believe that all university undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement. In my opnion this idea can outweigh the disadvantages of students face several problems after their graduation.
One major advantage of this is student can overcome the challenges they can face in their future career.Most students find difficulty in their work placement after graduation .For example, Student can get an opportunity to spend their particular time in work placement, that can learn them about the job market. As a result, after graduation they can prepare themselve for the new challeges they might face in finding job.
Simillarly regarding studying abroad , one major advantage is students can become more inpendent. Stuyding abroad can learn them about some new challenges in life.For example, for a student abroad may be a new environement for him. As a result they may need to solve their problem with their own and it may help them to become independent.
I think including a time for studying abroad or doing a work placement can be very beneficial for a student. However studing abroad can be expensive for a student. While doing a work placement during their undergraduate courses may help them to become familliar with the job recruitment process they may face in future.
In conclusion, the idea may have some disadvantages but it can be beneficial for a student. It can help them in their future career and they can learn wide range of new things in this particular time.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt only partially, and the student's position is not always clearly stated or maintained. While the writer attempts to discuss both studying abroad and work placements, the ideas remain limited and under-developed. Furthermore, the length requirement has not been met: the student's response contains 239 words, falling short of the 250-word minimum requirement. The main arguments lack sufficient extension, and supporting examples such as 'Student can get an opportunity to spend their particular time in work placement' are vague and fail to fully explore whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. To reach a higher band, the essay needs to fully develop all parts of the task with well-supported arguments and meet the word count requirement.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
There is some basic organisation with paragraph breaks separating different points, but the essay lacks clear overall progression. Cohesive devices are used in a mechanical and repetitive manner, such as repeatedly relying on 'One major advantage', 'Simillarly regarding', and 'As a result'. Paragraphing is attempted, but transitions between ideas feel abrupt and the logical flow is sometimes disrupted. Referencing is also unclear in places, such as 'for a student abroad may be a new environement for him' where pronouns lack precise antecedents. To improve, the writer should use a wider variety of cohesive links more naturally and ensure a smoother, more logical progression of ideas throughout the entire essay.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary range is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The student attempts some less common vocabulary items such as 'undergraduate courses', 'work placement', and 'recruitment process', but there are noticeable errors in word choice, form, and spelling that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples of lexical and spelling errors include 'opnion', 'inpendent', 'Stuyding', 'environement', 'familliar', and awkward phrasing like 'that can learn them about'. Words are sometimes used in incorrect grammatical forms, such as 'learn them' instead of 'teach them'. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to expand their lexical range and eliminate spelling and word-choice errors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The essay displays a very limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside a few faulty attempts at complex ones. Frequent grammatical errors are present, including issues with subject-verb agreement, article usage, prepositions, and plurals. Examples include 'students face several problems after their graduation', 'Student can get an opportunity', 'solve their problem with their own', and 'studing abroad can be expensive for a student'. Punctuation is also occasionally careless, with spaces appearing before commas or periods. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader. To progress, the student should aim to use a greater variety of complex sentence structures with improved grammatical accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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