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)

It is often suggested that all univeristy students should involve a period of time spent studying abroad or doing work placement. In my opinion, it has alot of benefits the undergraduate students spent studying or work in abroad, it has some advantages and disadvantages.

Firstly, it has some advantages studying or job in abroad during undergraduate is such a golden period for every student, For example, students can gain more exposure and experience about their work and course, in addition to this, in our country students mostly have theoretical courses but in abroad they provide the pratical work and courses for the students, Moreover, chemistry students mostly learn their work by practicing with chemicals in the lab and gain more knowledge about chemicals.

Secondly, studying abroad and work during courses also have some drawbacks because there are some reasons that mostly students do not prefer. For example, for some students it is very costly for them to go abroad and do work and studies, the time management is very difficult for many students . Therefore , the accomodation is also very costly in the abroad so mostly students do not prefer go on abroad. Some students have families responsibilities so they or medical health issues so that make travelling difficult.

In conclusion, the governments should provide scholarships for the needy and poor students so those students can afford and go on abroad for the education and work. Studying abroad and work experience would prepare students for the future responsibilties and students gain more information and awareness. With inadquate money students can not afford to move to the abroad.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially, as required for this band level. The writer attempts to discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad or doing a work placement, but the position is not always clearly maintained or supported. For instance, the second paragraph mentions general benefits like gaining exposure and practical work, yet it relies on a repetitive and basic example about chemistry students without fully developing how this applies across all undergraduate courses. The conclusion introduces a new point about government scholarships rather than summarizing the main arguments effectively. Ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed, and parts of the prompt such as the explicit comparison of whether advantages outweigh disadvantages are only partially explored. (Note: 9 words copied from the task prompt were excluded from the total count, leaving 259 words, which meets the minimum length requirement).

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation evident in the text, as the writer attempts to structure the essay with standard paragraph breaks, using transition markers such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion'. However, there is no clear overall progression of ideas throughout the essay. Cohesive devices are sometimes used inaccurately or repetitively, such as the repeated reliance on 'For example' followed by loosely connected clauses. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and sentences within paragraphs do not always flow logically into one another, leading to a somewhat disjointed reading experience that lacks smooth transitions between the perceived benefits and drawbacks.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task. The student attempts to use some less common vocabulary items, such as 'undergraduate', 'accommodation', and 'responsibilities', but noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form occur throughout the essay. For example, terms like 'univeristy' and 'pratical' contain spelling errors, while phrases such as 'do work and studies' and 'move to the abroad' show awkward collocations and inappropriate prepositions associated with lexical items. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher lexical band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic coordination. When the writer attempts complex sentence forms, they are frequently faulty, such as in the sentence 'In my opinion, it has alot of benefits the undergraduate students spent studying or work in abroad, it has some advantages and disadvantages.' Frequent errors in grammar occur across verb forms, tenses, subject-verb agreement, and articles, including phrases like 'families responsibilities', 'mostly students do not prefer go on abroad', and 'With inadquate money students can not afford'. These frequent errors frequently cause difficulty and strain for the reader.

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