Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-09

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 a common pratice among many universities to include a work placement or to study a part of their education in foreign country. The type of work and duration of studies varies in different institutes and it also depends on the foreign affairs of the home town country. Despite the fact that, it can be challenging for some students. It can also be very beneficial for other students.

On the one hand, an exposure to practical work during the studies can be very helpfull for the students in future. Because when they get into their practical life, they already had some time spent in that field during their studies. This can help to boost their professional career as well. While the education in a foreign country can help a student to develop good communincation skills and an exposure to a new culture will make their minds more innovative and broad. It can also helps the students to study in different enviroment and education system. This may can help them to develop their educational skills.

On the other hand, making these type of activities a compulsory part of the curriculum can affect some students. It can be financially challenging for some students to study abroad. Becasue every students can not afford education in other countries and their may be some personal reasons of a student which should also be considered. While work placements can also be problem for some students regarding the same issues.

In conlcusion, I think both of these practices can be a good option for students to boost their studies and career. But it must not be compulsory, very student should have a choice to choose the way of his life. Both of these practices with a range of choices and a good student support system can be a very good development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both the benefits and drawbacks and give a clear final view: placements and overseas study can help students, but should remain optional. Relevant benefits include gaining practical experience, developing communication skills and encountering a new culture; you also recognise financial and personal barriers. This fits the task well, although the response does not fully answer the comparison in the question: it explains why the options may be useful, but does not clearly weigh whether their advantages outweigh their disadvantages. Some points, such as how a different education system develops students’ skills, are asserted rather than explained or supported with an example. Make the comparison explicit and extend the main reasons with specific consequences or examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement, with an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on drawbacks and a conclusion. The contrast signposts “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the main structure, and the conclusion returns to the issue of compulsion. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Despite the fact that, it can be challenging” is an incomplete contrast, while “While work placements can also be problem” does not clearly connect to the preceding point. The benefits paragraph also moves quickly from work experience to communication, culture and education systems. Use clearer links between related ideas and organise each paragraph around a more developed central point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “work placement,” “practical work,” “professional career,” “compulsory” and “curriculum,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling, word-choice and collocation errors reduce precision: “pratice,” “helpfull,” “communincation,” “enviroment” and “conlcusion” are misspelled, while “foreign affairs of the home town country” does not express the intended idea clearly. Phrases such as “boost their studies” and “develop their educational skills” are also vague or unnatural. Build a more precise set of expressions for discussing costs, employability and cultural learning, and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “Because,” “While” and “which,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, some sentence structures and grammatical forms are inaccurate. “Because when they get into their practical life” is a fragment, and “It can also helps” combines an incorrect modal construction with the verb form; use “can also help.” Other examples include “every students can not afford” and “their may be some personal reasons,” where agreement and pronoun forms are incorrect. “This may can help” also uses two modal verbs together. Aim for complete sentences and check subject–verb agreement, modal patterns and articles; these corrections would make your varied sentence attempts more controlled.

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