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)

It is often argued that all higher education institutes ought to include a specific duration in courses of undergraduate for studying overseas or doing work placement. According to my perspective, this approach is instrumental for students learning and confidence .However the drawbacks can be reduced performance in study and stressed out tutees.

The first major benefit of including specific time for studying abroad or any work placement in undergraduate courses is learning of students .As this approach helps student to gain knowledge from other parts of the world which helps them to learn despite the geographical boundaries .Moreover, doing any work helps them to gain practical experience of the industry or their field which motivates them to take studies and learning more seriously. confidence is another plus point of this phenomena because when students move to other country and manage their whole life without their parents and family and get to know about a completely new life , it boosts their self esteem that they can be independent .They learn different kind of skills like starting a life from scratch and making connections with new people helps them to be more confident.

On contrast , adding the compulsion of studying for a specific period of time in other country or doing a work can have some negative points. Mental Stress is the major issue which can be caused by this approach because not every student can afford to live in another country for study due to their financial barrier which can lead to depression for university students and their family. Additionally, this can also lead to distract the students from studies because moving to another country can disturb the whole life of a student due to which they can be distracted from studies and also doing work placement can be a factor to reduce the study performance . For instance , if a student move to another country and suffer homesickness in that period his focus towards the learning will be badly disturbed.

By concluding , it has both pros and cons in their own ways .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, and states a clear position that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. However, some ideas are under-developed. For example, while the writer mentions that studying abroad helps students gain knowledge across geographical boundaries and boosts self-esteem, these points are presented rather generally without concrete elaboration. The disadvantages, such as mental stress and financial barriers, are introduced but lack deeper exploration. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to extend and support all main ideas with more fully developed explanations or specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, separate body paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a brief conclusion. Information and ideas are generally sequenced logically. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. Cohesive devices like 'The first major benefit' and 'On contrast' are used, but referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use in 'it has both pros and cons in their own ways'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct themes, but progression between sentences could be smoother. To improve, the writer should employ a wider range of cohesive devices more flexibly and ensure referencing is consistently transparent throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'instrumental', 'geographical boundaries', and 'self-esteem'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and phrasing, such as 'stressed out tutees', 'this phenomena', 'compulsion of studying', and 'lead to distract the students'. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they reveal a lack of precision. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to expand their lexical repertoire and use less common vocabulary with greater accuracy and awareness of natural collocations and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses. There are, however, frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement, prepositions, and article usage. Examples include 'learning of students' instead of 'students' learning', 'if a student move' instead of 'moves', and unnecessary spaces before punctuation marks. Although these errors occasionally cause strain for the reader, the meaning remains mostly clear. To progress further, the writer must exercise better control over complex sentence structures and eliminate persistent errors in basic grammatical patterns and punctuation.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.