Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-07

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)

Nowadays, it becomes trend in youngsters to go abroad for higher education. An university plays an integral role in pupils future and it also provide a several apportunities. One of the most conspicuous trends in today's world is that all university undergraduate courses should include a period of time use for studying forgien countries or doing a work placement. This essay will express its advantages with my opinion in the following paragraphs, supported with relevant examples.

There are a plethora of compelling advantages of it. First and foremost, it helps students to enhance their knowledge. For instance, if they go abroad for study they learn new vocabulary and facts. However, it also benefits for learners to improve their skills in particular field. To exemplify, recently many medical students go Canada because of their advance education system. Another noteworthy reason is that people become more confident and independent about their work and study. Last but not least, studying abroad also provide part-time job so they earn some money and give sense of relief to their parents.

On the other hand, it has a few demerits. The most important point is that plenty of students not focus on their study because of less attention by families. Secondly, going other nations also affect on people physical and mental health. For example, changing on weather and diet pattern leads many problems like disturb sleeping pattern, indigestion, and so on. Nonetheless, I personally side with the former view because of numerous undeniable reasons such as enhance knowledge, improve skills, and many more. In conclusion, even though it has a few disadvantages, the significant merits cannot be ignored.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and make your position clear: you support the proposal, stating that you “personally side with the former view.” Relevant benefits include gaining knowledge, developing skills, and becoming more independent, while you also mention reduced family support and possible health effects. However, some points are asserted rather than explained. For example, the claim that studying abroad provides part-time work does not directly show how this applies to all undergraduate courses, and the medical-student example lacks detail about what students gain. The disadvantages are also less developed than the advantages. To strengthen the response, explain how a compulsory placement could affect students who cannot afford travel, and connect each example more explicitly to whether the benefits outweigh the costs. (The response meets the required length; 10 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction to advantages, disadvantages, and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish the two sides, and signposts such as “First and foremost,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the progression easy to follow. However, some linking is mechanical, with several formulaic transitions (“Another noteworthy reason,” “Last but not least”) rather than connections that show how ideas relate. The sentence beginning “Nonetheless, I personally side with the former view” is placed within the disadvantages paragraph, which makes the paragraph’s focus less clear. Consider giving your opinion its own concluding paragraph and using referencing or cause-and-effect links to connect supporting details more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “integral role,” “conspicuous trends,” “independent,” and “undeniable reasons,” and the main ideas remain understandable. However, inaccurate word choice, collocation, and spelling are noticeable and sometimes make the phrasing awkward: “a period of time use for studying forgien countries,” “benefits for learners,” and “affect on people physical and mental health.” There are also misspellings such as “apportunities” and “advance education system.” Some expressions sound memorised or overly formal without adding precision. Aim for natural combinations and accurate forms, such as “a period spent studying abroad,” “benefits learners,” and “an advanced education system.” More precise vocabulary for the costs and benefits would also help you avoid repeating general terms such as “improve” and “problems.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple sentences and attempts at more complex structures, including conditional phrasing (“if they go abroad for study”) and a concession (“even though it has a few disadvantages”). The overall meaning is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors recur. Examples include “An university,” “it also provide,” “students not focus,” and “going other nations also affect,” involving articles, subject–verb agreement, and sentence structure. In “studying abroad also provide part-time job,” both agreement and article use need attention. Some sentences also omit necessary grammatical words, which makes relationships between ideas less clear. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and verb, agreement, and articles, then review prepositions and plural forms. Greater accuracy in these patterns would make your varied sentence attempts easier to read.

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