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)

All degrees should mandate a short international course or doing an internship. This eassay will compare both the possiblities and conclude if it outweighs the disadvantages.

Universities offering such opportunities will make more competent indiviuals for the society and it will also prepare them for better jobs options in the future. This will make them more confident in their field, with higher self-esteem. The will be able to perform better then their peers and will cope better in real life world which the academic lectures can not provide. For example;medical and dental students will be better able to perform with prior experience.

Nevertheless, making such placements compulsory will increase the financial loads on students and parents. Studying abroad requires alot of money as they need to afford accommodation, travel and every day food and commute fares. However, universities can address these concerns by offering scholarships and subsidies of travel and ccess to local work expercience.

In conclusion, although study-abroad programmes and work placements may innvolve additional costs and difficulties, I believe their benefits still outweigh the disadvantages by providing practical experience, improving employability and better personal development. These opportunities can prepare students more effectively for their professionall futures.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear answer in the conclusion: the benefits outweigh the costs, and you identify relevant advantages such as practical experience, employability and personal development. The example of medical and dental students also helps connect placements to future work. However, the response addresses the task only partially because the main ideas are asserted rather than sufficiently explained. For instance, you say students will be more confident and perform better than peers, but do not show how a placement produces these outcomes. The disadvantage is mainly financial, with little discussion of other possible drawbacks. The response is also 52 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to develop and support your argument. Add fuller explanations and a specific example for each main point.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on costs and a concluding position. Linking expressions such as “Nevertheless,” “However” and “In conclusion” make the contrast and final judgement easy to follow. This meets the lower-band expectation of an organised response and shows some of the flexibility associated with stronger cohesion. However, progression within the body paragraphs is less secure: several benefits are listed in sequence without explaining how they connect, and the solution of scholarships is introduced briefly rather than developed. The opening also promises to compare possibilities but does not clearly map out the argument. Use topic sentences and develop each point in a logical sequence, with clearer links between claims, explanations and examples.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a minimally adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “internship,” “compulsory,” “scholarships,” “subsidies,” “employability” and “practical experience.” These terms help communicate the main argument, and the meaning is generally recoverable. However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “eassay,” “possiblities,” “indiviuals,” “alot” and “professionall.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “better jobs options,” “financial loads” and “real life world.” The vocabulary is therefore limited in accuracy and flexibility, even though the topic is clear. Proofread spelling carefully and learn common academic collocations; for example, use “financial burden” and “job prospects” rather than translating phrases word by word.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “although” and a sentence with “as” to explain costs. Most of the argument remains understandable, but errors in sentence construction and grammatical control are frequent enough to affect fluency. For example, “The will be able” is missing a subject, while “perform better then their peers” has an incorrect comparative construction. The opening phrase “All degrees should mandate a short international course or doing an internship” also lacks parallel structure. Punctuation is sometimes awkward, as in “For example;medical,” and the final sentence fragment-like phrasing “by providing … and better personal development” is not fully parallel. Practise accurate subject–verb patterns, parallel lists and sentence punctuation.

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