Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-05

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)

Education is not the process of life but it is life itself. Knowledge gained from books play a crucial role in life but it cannot be denied that only academic learning is not important to lead a better future but having a hands on experience makes children more ready for the future. It is said that all college undergraduate courses must involve a timeline where students should live abroad for specific time or get a work internship instead and is proven benefical to the society. Hence, I Endorse that the advantages of this are far more superior than its negatives and the reasons for my inclination are articulated in the trail paragraphs.

First and the major advantage of advocating internship or study aboard plan is that the young ones get to experience the practical exposure of the world. Having learnt about a particular course and solving the book based questions is not enough, instead one should know how to cope up with the changing world dynamics which is only possible by staying alone in a new country. An university cirriculam mandating learners to lead an independent life aboard or securing them a work placement just after passing out of college after completion of graduation offers various pros and to name a few; just after completing studies when sent to aboard children learns to figure out things on there own, udapting to new environment, culture, gets well with money management skills, get out of there comfort zone and make new connections. For instance, securing an intership just after university gives a freedom to children to get more practical knowledge about work ethics . All these skills are never taught at school nor at university but are mandatory for an individal to know to lead a secure future.

In a sharp contrast it cannot be unseen the disadvantages offered by it. Just after gradutation when sent aboard kids might get on a wrong track leading a mischevious life ahead. Landing a work placement while being just 20 or 21 years old might burden young ones with work load. Though solving book based questions is not enough for a succesfull career but it is also important to have physical knowledge about the world to have a successfull life ahead.

On the close scrutiny, I conclude that having exposure to the world nowadays is much more important than just learning through books and its postivites are evident and overweigh its ramifications.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout, arguing that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant ideas are presented, such as gaining practical world exposure and independence. However, some parts are more fully developed than others. While the advantages are discussed with several supporting points like money management and networking, the counter-argument regarding disadvantages is underdeveloped and somewhat superficial, mentioning that kids might get on the wrong track or experience a heavy workload without deeper elaboration. To move to a higher level, all aspects of the argument, particularly the counter-arguments, would need to be extended and supported with equal depth and clarity.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, ensuring the writer's stance is maintained throughout. Paragraphing is used to separate main ideas, such as the introduction of the topic, the primary advantages, the contrasting disadvantages, and the final summary. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases like 'In a sharp contrast it cannot be unseen' and 'On the close scrutiny' sound awkward and indicate mechanical control of cohesive devices. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as pronoun usage like 'there' instead of 'their'. To improve, the progression between sentences needs to be smoother, and cohesive devices should be employed more naturally without relying on forced transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'dynamics', 'mandating', and 'ramifications'. However, there are noticeable spelling, word choice, and collocation errors that reflect limitations in this criterion. Examples include 'aboard' instead of 'abroad', 'cirriculam' instead of 'curriculum', 'intership' instead of 'internship', 'postivites' instead of 'positives', and the phrase 'physical knowledge' instead of 'practical knowledge'. Additionally, expressions like 'get well with money management' and 'lead a mischevious life ahead' show unnatural collocations. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the score, and a wider, more precise control of vocabulary with fewer slips is required to reach the next level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt to use varied structures such as relative clauses and conditional-style reasoning. There are, however, some errors in grammar and punctuation throughout the text. These include subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'Knowledge gained from books play' instead of 'plays', incorrect prepositional phrases like 'figure out things on there own', and awkward clause structures such as 'when sent to aboard children learns'. Punctuation and article usage are also occasionally faulty, as seen in missing articles or incorrect capitalization. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they represent a recurring pattern of mistakes rather than a majority of error-free sentences, which prevents the writing from achieving a higher mark.

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