Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06

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)

Most people argue that all university undergraduate courses should have a specific period of time allocated to studying in another country or doing placement work.

First off, if students who enrolled in undergraduate courses get the chance to visit a new place with different rules and procedures it may add up as a new experience for them in addition to the four year degree program. Another benefit is that the youngsters will learn practical things instead of always sitting in a class room and learnig theory which mostly is not even understood by many. The practical part will allow them to develop better understanding of their major. Work placements alos teach students how to write CV'S , applications and a lot of other practical work that may help them later in life. For example, staudents in healthcare can do placement work in a clinic or hospital to gain real life experience by interacting with clints and patients in that hospital. As a result, for peopel who do this type of practical course they gain a lot of real experience in general.

Secondly, if there are a lot of advantages then obviously there mus be some disadvantages to this practice too. The downsides to this idea is that it may be too costly for some pupils because their families are not as well off as compared to other students. Another disadvantage is that it some students may not be able to manage both studies and practical work at the same time which may appear more than a burden than help to them. for exaple, some students are not willing to do un-paid work because they already paid a lot of tuition and academic fees associated with their degree program.

In conclusion, certainly there are some downsides to this idea bit i think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages if students are given proper opportunities to work in placement facilities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, and presents a clear position that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the first advantage regarding practical experience is reasonably well supported with an example about healthcare students interacting with patients. In contrast, other points remain somewhat generalised and under-developed, such as the brief mention of financial costs and the challenge of balancing studies with work. To reach a higher level, every main idea needs to be thoroughly extended and supported with fully articulated explanations and specific examples throughout the entire response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear stance established early on and reaffirmed in the conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct themes, such as the benefits in the second paragraph and the drawbacks in the third. However, cohesion at times feels mechanical or repetitive, relying on standard transitional markers like 'First off', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion'. Additionally, referencing within sentences is occasionally loose, which slightly interrupts the logical flow. Progression is present, but to achieve a higher standard, the writer would need to employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and reference pronouns naturally, ensuring seamless connections between sentences and paragraphs without relying on formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'undergraduate courses', 'procedure', and 'tuition'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and spelling throughout the essay. For example, phrases like 'placement work' and 'practical course' show restricted phrasing, and there are several spelling and typographical errors, such as 'learnig', 'alos', 'staudents', 'clints', 'peopel', 'mus', and 'bit'. While these errors do not seriously impede overall communication, they prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher level of precision, style, and natural control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating subordinating clauses such as 'if students who enrolled in undergraduate courses get the chance...'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('sitting in a class room'), faulty punctuation ('CV'S'), and minor agreement issues or run-on structures ('The downsides to this idea is that...'). Despite these occasional errors, the structures used do not impede communication, and the meaning generally remains clear. To progress further, the writer would need to produce a higher frequency of error-free complex sentences, alongside tighter control over articles, subject-verb agreement, and punctuation.

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