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)

Nowadays, many people beleive all university undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement. Although this create many difficulties for students but i believe the advantages of this would outweight the disadvantages like improve skills and future oppertunity.

One main advantages of this are studying abroad can improve students self confidence because when students are going in abroad for learning they face with many difficulties that give students self confidence. Secondaly, during study doing a work placement is also benefical for students because students are learn many new skills and also gain professional experience that also improve students futture oppertunity. For Example, when i was a students many students were doing the internships to learn many new things. So, i this is the second most advantage for student.

However, there are also some disadvantages to consider. Studying abroad can be expensive because accomodation fees, visa fees, flight fees are much expensive for students. Similary some students may struggle to find suitable work because nowadays there are limited working oppertunity for students that's why i think students also face difficulty when finding the jobs. Universities can reduce this difficulty by prvoiding to students the local work placement.

In conclusion, although studying abroad or completing a work placement may involve financial and practical difficulties. I belive the advantages of this would outweight the disadvantages. The oppertunity to gain practical experience, develop perosonal skills and improve future employment make benefical part of university examination

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question and state your view: the benefits of improved confidence, skills and employment prospects outweigh the costs and practical difficulties. The examples of internships and expenses are relevant, but the ideas are brief and sometimes unclear; for instance, the internship example does not explain what students learned or how this experience improved their prospects. Your conclusion repeats your position but ends with an unclear claim about university examinations. The response is 231 words, so it is 19 words below the 250-word minimum; the 18 words copied from the prompt are not counted. Develop each main point with a clearer explanation or a specific example, and make the conclusion directly summarise your argument.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph on advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “However” and “In conclusion” help signal the main stages. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “So, i this is the second most advantage” does not clearly connect the example to the preceding point, while the first sentence introduces difficulties before the essay explains the advantages. Repeated references to “students” also make the writing less cohesive. Organise each body paragraph around one clear main idea, then explain and illustrate it, using pronouns and linking phrases accurately to show how the points relate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “self confidence,” “professional experience,” “accommodation fees” and “work placement,” so the reader can generally understand your main points. However, the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, particularly “students,” “difficulty” and “opportunity.” Spelling errors such as “beleive,” “outweight,” “oppertunity” and “prvoiding” are noticeable, and some combinations are unnatural, such as “future opportunity” where you mean improved employment prospects. Build a more varied set of accurate topic phrases and check spelling carefully. For example, you could use “career prospects” and “gain practical experience” to express your ideas more precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a concession in the introduction and a sentence beginning “although” in the conclusion. However, errors are frequent, and some complex attempts are faulty. Examples include “Although this create many difficulties … but i believe,” which combines two contrasting structures, and “students are learn many new skills,” which has an incorrect verb form. There are also problems with agreement and sentence construction in “One main advantages of this are” and “when students are going in abroad.” These errors sometimes make the reader work to understand the intended meaning. Practise forming one accurate complex sentence at a time, checking subject–verb agreement, verb forms and punctuation before adding further clauses.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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