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)

in different areas internship or exchange programs are mandatory. temporary work placement or studying abroad should be necessary for all highr studies students during their university period. in my point of both these should be necessary for students for better self growth, confidence and intellectual learning irrespective to some drawbacks such as inconsistency, slow learning due to differnt nature people.

the main benefit of study abroad during higher studies is that student get exposure from different people, students know about different cultures, explore their career opportunities more wisely, build connections. students built confidence when meet with diverse nature of people also try to build different learning perspectives during their most valuable time. respctive to it some students do internships, gained experience and explore market trends, know about their interests in further studies that fits for their future. during their temporary job period they spend their time in some creative work as compare to waste in some useless things such as spent leisure time just to hangout with friends although it gives mental peace at that time. despite all these benefits there are some downsides.

students normally go to abroad during immature age which leads to some time harmful for them because due to culture shift they disobey their ethical values and waste their golden time in abroad furthermore they feel homesickness and though about their parents apparently which leads to remove their focus from studies, in abroad you are doing somejob to complete your expenses do part time job and study at same time which leads to change their track frome studies and suddenly completing expenses is only major priority.

after the some up of all advantages and diadvantages. i should think that advantages outweigh the disadvantages which leads to better oppotunities for students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both the benefits and drawbacks and give a clear overall view: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant benefits include cultural exposure, confidence, career exploration and work experience; the drawbacks of homesickness, cultural adjustment and balancing work with study also relate to the question. However, some points are asserted rather than explained. For example, the claim that placements prevent students from wasting time socialising is not clearly connected to the value of a compulsory placement, and the concern about students abandoning ethical values needs clarification or support. Develop fewer points with a specific example and explain how they affect students’ education or future prospects.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on disadvantages and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow your position. You also use linking expressions such as “despite all these benefits” and “furthermore” to signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several points are joined into long, loosely connected sentences. For instance, the discussion of part-time work, expenses and losing focus could be separated and ordered more clearly. Some transitions, including “respective to it” and “after the some up,” are unclear. Use topic sentences and more precise referencing so each paragraph develops one main line of reasoning.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “exposure,” “career opportunities,” “diverse” and “homesickness,” and this gives you some means of discussing both sides. However, the range and control are limited by repeated or imprecise expressions and noticeable spelling and collocation errors. Phrases such as “better self growth,” “different nature of people” and “complete their expenses” do not express your intended meaning naturally, while errors such as “highr,” “diadvantages” and “oppotunities” reduce clarity. Build a bank of accurate topic-specific collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise wording would help you explain ideas without relying on broad phrases such as “some creative work” or “better opportunities.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “which” and “although,” and the main argument is generally understandable. However, complex sentences are often difficult to control, and errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles and verb forms sometimes make the reader work to interpret your meaning. For example, “students built confidence when meet” lacks a clear verb structure, while “student get exposure” has agreement and article problems. The sentence beginning “in abroad you are doing somejob” also combines several ideas without clear grammatical boundaries. Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a clearly formed supporting clause, then check subject–verb agreement, tense 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.