Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Each university undergraduate course should given a couple of time to spent studying foreign or doing a jobs placement, i think this statement has strong concept so that its advantages must be outweigh the disadvantages.

In present, university education is not only about gaining theoretical knowledge but also about having practicle skills. There are several benefits of studying abroad or doing work placement. Firstly, students may get chance to learn theoretical knowledge so that in future they can understand how to apply their academic knowlwdge in their real life situation. For example, student of business can learn how to work in companies, handle the worst situation very calmly, how to work on under pressure, and dealing with diffrent customers and businesses. Moreover, studying in another country helps them to learn about their different culture, and improve their english aswell. It helps them to build up their self confidence.

However, there are some disadvantage too. One of the major problem the financial cost. Studying abroad requires more money, for accomodation and tuition fee. Therefore, students from low-income families cannot afford that much amount .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt partially, outlining some advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad or doing work placements. However, the ideas remain quite limited and under-developed, lacking sufficient extension and detailed support. The writer clearly states an initial position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but the reasoning remains basic throughout the body paragraphs. Furthermore, it is critical to note that the length requirement is not met, as the response contains only 183 words, falling significantly short of the 250-word minimum specified for this task. To reach a higher level, the writer must expand the response to meet the minimum word count and provide fully developed ideas with comprehensive explanations and concrete examples for every main point presented.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates some basic organization with a clear introduction that states a position, followed by body paragraphs attempting to separate advantages and disadvantages. However, there is no clear overall progression as the ideas jump abruptly between points without smooth transitions. Cohesive devices are used minimally and sometimes inaccurately, such as relying on basic linking words like 'Firstly', 'Moreover', and 'However'. Paragraphing is also an issue, as the conclusion is entirely missing, leaving the text abruptly cut off after the second disadvantage. To improve cohesion, the writer needs to introduce a wider range of cohesive devices accurately, ensure logical sequencing between sentences, and include a complete concluding paragraph that summarizes the main arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some topic-related vocabulary such as 'theoretical knowledge', 'academic knowledge', 'accommodation', and 'tuition fee', but also displays noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and spelling. Examples include writing 'jobs placement' instead of 'job placement', 'practicle' instead of 'practical', and 'knowlwdge' instead of 'knowledge'. There are also awkward phrasings like 'spend studying foreign' and 'handle the worst situation'. These lexical inaccuracies and spelling errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher score, the writer must expand their lexical range by utilizing precise, less common vocabulary correctly and paying close attention to word forms, spellings, and standard collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates a very limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside a few clumsy attempts at complex sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with verb forms and tenses, subject-verb agreement, and articles. Examples of these errors include 'Each university undergraduate course should given', 'its advantages must be outweigh', 'student of business can learn', and 'work on under pressure'. Punctuation is also weak, marked by incorrect capitalization and comma splices. These frequent errors cause strain and difficulty for the reader. To improve this criterion, the writer needs to increase the variety of sentence structures while maintaining control, ensuring proper verb inflection, accurate article usage, and error-free complex sentence construction.

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