Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The undergraduate courses of almost every university should include a duration in which students tend to spend some time studying abroad or by doing a work placement.

There are much advantages to do this as this opportunity makes the student responsible and keen for their future. Although, there are both pros and cones for this but it will be helpful for the young students.

Studying abroad is the dream of some students. A student should explore the abroad studies and understand their education system. If the education system in abroad is better than his own country then he should implement that education system in one's own country. This will an accredible step for the coming ones. Adding more, studying abroad develops a sense of responsibility. By experiencing this one can manages his all duties well and fully. In contrast, for instance, if seen in Pakistan the undergraduate students are much desprressed as there is no any activity with their studies.

On the other side,a work placement is also preferable for the students where they can get their experience related to their fields. Like as, undergraduate courses have to include the internship programmes in their degrees. This makes the students more active to their related fields.

In contrast to advantages, have a look on disadvantages. In early age the pressure of the work can cause anxiety to students. But if a student is devoted to his goals, he must cope with it. Because it will helps in future.

Concluding the topic, I think that addition of the work placement or experiencing abroad study is crucial for the students. Though there are some drawbacks but there are a lot of benefits of this.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task only partially, presenting a position that remains somewhat unclear and undeveloped throughout the essay. While the writer attempts to discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad and completing work placements, the ideas remain limited and lack sufficient extension or relevant support. For instance, the point regarding the Pakistani education system introduces an underdeveloped personal observation rather than a well-supported argument relating to the prompt. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to present fully developed main ideas supported by clear explanations and relevant examples rather than brief, generalized assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organization present, with the text divided into paragraphs that touch upon different aspects of the prompt, but there is no clear overall progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are frequently inadequate, inaccurate, or repetitive, as seen in the heavy reliance on transitional phrases like 'In contrast' and 'On the other side,' which are sometimes used incorrectly to link unrelated points. Furthermore, referencing is not always clear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the logical flow of the arguments. Improving the overall structure requires using a wider and more accurate range of cohesive links and ensuring that each paragraph transitions smoothly into the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited in range, though minimally adequate for expressing basic thoughts on the topic. There are noticeable lexical errors, such as 'much advantages,' 'cones' instead of 'cons,' 'accredible,' 'desprressed,' and inappropriate word forms like 'experiencing abroad study,' which cause some difficulty for the reader. The writer attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these attempts often result in unnatural collocations and inaccurate word choices. To achieve a higher score, the writer must expand their vocabulary range and focus on mastering correct word forms, spelling, and natural collocations suitable for academic writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple or overly basic complex forms that frequently contain errors. There are frequent grammatical mistakes regarding prepositions, article usage, subject-verb agreement, and verb tense consistency, such as 'a duration in which students tend to spend,' 'there is no any activity,' and 'it will helps.' Attempts at complex sentences often result in faulty structures that can cause difficulty for the reader. To improve in this area, the writer needs to demonstrate a greater variety of complex grammatical structures while significantly reducing the frequency of basic errors.

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