Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-08

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)

all tertiary cources should include in a period of time which spent in abroad study and doing some work placement. i think there are many advantages and some disadvantages with this statement, but i think advantages are more o it is beneficial for higher study students.

firstly, there are many benefits of educational institution, because when students spent their time abroad for becholer students, then they gain more experience and easily find jobs. furthermore, these students went to abroad, so they learn more about culture, language and learn to live independently, then they link with more companies besides this. for instance, when an engineer students complete their degree, but they internship with factories and learn how machines actually work. this experience come from work but not reading on the books, in addition, study in abroad is more essential for students and they independantly by this work.

secondaly, there are some disadvantages, some students can not manage their financial budget, because abroad study is more expensive and everyone cannot affordable expensive study. moreover, when students decide to take admission in wrong institute, so degree can be delay and students are nervous due to these some issues. by contrast, when some students go outside for tertiary education they cannot survive in those environment, because some individuals cannot live outside and they mostly prefer to live with their family. for example, when academic instituents offer the students to go abroad for higher education, but some people can not afford, so this is inequality between rich and poor citizen. so this is disadvantage of higher study to abroad.

in conclusion, i think advantages are high then disadvantage, because when individuals go abroad for study. so they have more oppurtunities for jobs and start their own buissnes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and give a clear overall view: you believe the advantages are greater. Relevant benefits include gaining experience, improving job prospects, learning about other cultures and becoming independent; you also identify costs, unsuitable institutions and difficulty living away from family. The engineering internship example helps illustrate practical learning. However, some points are asserted rather than explained—for example, the claim that overseas study helps students “start their own business” is not supported, and the discussion of inequality could be linked more directly to whether the benefits outweigh the costs. Develop fewer points with clearer explanations and examples, and make the comparison between advantages and disadvantages more explicit throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “firstly,” “furthermore,” “secondly” and “in conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. However, connections between ideas are sometimes mechanical or unclear. For instance, “by contrast” does not clearly introduce a contrast in the sentence about students who cannot live away from family, and several sentences join multiple points without showing their relationship. References such as “these some issues” are also unclear. Use linking expressions only when their logical function is precise, and organise each body paragraph around a main point followed by explanation and an example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “work placement,” “financial budget,” “independently,” “inequality” and “higher education.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main argument. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors make parts less clear, such as “advantages are more,” “students went to abroad,” “cannot affordable expensive study” and “start their own buissnes.” Some terms are also imprecise, including “wrong institute” and “engineer students.” Build accuracy by learning common academic collocations and checking spelling and word forms. More precise choices would help express your ideas naturally without relying on repeated general words such as “students,” “study” and “experience.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “when” and “so,” and the reader can generally follow your main points. However, some sentence structures and verb forms are inaccurate, particularly when several clauses are combined. For example, “when students spent their time abroad … then they gain” shifts tense, while “when an engineer students complete their degree, but they internship” has problems with agreement and clause construction. Articles and prepositions also need attention, as in “in abroad” and “in those environment.” Practise building complete sentences with one clear main clause, then add subordinate clauses carefully. Check subject–verb agreement, tense consistency, articles and punctuation when editing.

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