Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 this modern and developing era,all the Universities and colleges offering undergraduate programs should also includer some practical thing to learn a useful skill in our life that can be visiting to abroad or can be doing a work placement

As we look more deep into that,we see that most universities offers undergraduate programs does not include any kind if work or intership or going abroad.Mostly,universities give their intership letter after completing 6 semesters in their course however,it totally varies accordding to the program we are chosing.

Firstly, there are many benefits of these type of skills like going to abroad for studies or doing some work on a placement.The first main advantage of that whenever you go for abroad you will learn to know how other people operates their live and you exprience different cultures from that you can learn how to manage your life alone.Further more,you can also do work on a placement and the key advantage to that you start to earn your livelihood and from their you can fulfil your dreams,give your own university fee which is very beneficial for your upcoming life.You gain a lot experience by doing work. For example, once i travelled to pakistan for my higher studies when i landed here i felt a different air , experienced different weather , learned how people works and spent there life here .Moreover i learned about there culture

On the contrary, there are also some disadvantage to that like when we go to another city it is not always that you will never face any problems it is a whole new era of life . Doing work can also lead to problems of time management,making time for your studies. For example , when i landed here in Pakistan, at start it was really good for me but as the time passes , i started to experience different types of problem like it was really hard for me to dijest very spicy food , i was not able to build my confidence in school because of the different language , different sense of thinking

To sum up,i thinks the advantages of going abroad or doing some work is far more weighing then doing only study because of the experience of life you get from going another country or doing intership you can probably face problems but going abroad or doing some kinda work is the best option

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and give a clear overall view: you conclude that the advantages of overseas study or work placements outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant benefits include learning about other cultures, becoming more independent, and earning money; you also identify challenges such as time management and adapting to a new language and food. The personal example about studying in Pakistan helps make the discussion concrete. However, some points are not fully developed: the link between earning a livelihood and paying university fees needs clearer explanation, and the disadvantages are mostly described through personal difficulties rather than weighed against the benefits. Explain more directly why the benefits apply broadly to undergraduates and why they outweigh these costs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure, moving from an introduction to advantages, disadvantages, and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps distinguish the two sides, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “On the contrary,” and “To sum up” make the direction of the argument clear. However, connections between some ideas are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Further more” introduces several benefits without showing how they relate, while the long personal example shifts between travel, weather, culture, and education without a clear sequence. Some references, such as “from their,” are difficult to follow. Use shorter, more focused paragraphs and clearer links between each claim, explanation, and example to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “work placement,” “different cultures,” “time management,” and “livelihood.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “upcoming life” and “manage your life alone,” but these are not always natural or precise. Noticeable spelling and word-choice problems—such as “intership,” “accordding,” “dijest,” and “different air”—sometimes make the reader pause or infer your meaning. Several phrases are also repeated, particularly “going abroad” and “different.” Build a more accurate range of collocations for education and employment, and check spelling carefully. More precise wording would help you express the same relevant ideas with less repetition.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning with “whenever” and “when,” and you use some sequencing and contrast structures. The main ideas are generally understandable, but errors in sentence construction and control occur across the response. For example, “most universities offers undergraduate programs does not include” combines incompatible structures, and “the key advantage to that you start to earn” is missing a grammatical link. There are also issues with agreement and tense, as in “i thinks” and “as the time passes, i started.” Punctuation and sentence boundaries are inconsistent, especially where several ideas run together. Practise building accurate sentences with one main point each, then check subject–verb agreement, articles, and tense consistency.

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