Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-12

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 study institutes undergraduate course should gave a chance to all the students to spent time studying in abroad and doing internships. I definitely believe that advantages of this would overcomes the disadvantages.

To begin with, the biggest advantage of students studying in abroad and do internship is it gave them a conference and boost their personality, because in abroad, there is nobody to support them and students could learn doing things on their own. For example- they learn how to make themselves happy, and complete their daily tasks without any help. The second advantage is that students they could learn new skills and experience through internship, which should help them in their future plans. Also, they got a chance to explain new culture and society as a result, they became more confident.

In addition, students does not have to depend on others and they become more independent. However, the disadvantage is that students and their parents should have to pay more. For example , tusion fees, living expenses, and others. In order to live in abroad, students have to be financially strong. Therefore, students have to do more work as a junior in internship but did not get much paid. Sometimes living in abroad without relatives could be hard.

To conclude with, if students got a chance to study in abroad and they would like to go there, university should think about this approach according to students need. It will give a great chance to students to explore new things and get more experience. Also , university would give scholarship to those students whose academic score is high and those who have great potential.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you believe the benefits outweigh the costs, and you address both advantages and disadvantages. Relevant points include gaining independence, developing skills through internships, experiencing another culture, and facing higher expenses. These points keep the response focused on the question. However, some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, the claim that studying abroad “boost[s] their personality” is vague, and the discussion of internship experience does not give a specific example of how it helps students’ future plans. The conclusion also shifts towards recommending that universities consider students’ needs and offer scholarships, rather than directly weighing the benefits against the disadvantages. Develop the comparison more explicitly and support key claims with clearer examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, paragraphs presenting benefits and costs, and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “In addition,” and “To conclude” help readers follow the main stages, and the ideas are generally grouped by topic. At times, however, connections are mechanical or unclear. “In addition” introduces independence, which largely repeats the earlier point about managing daily tasks, while “However” introduces a disadvantage without clearly showing how it contrasts with the preceding benefit. Some references, such as “this approach,” are also broad. To strengthen progression, combine related points, use linking expressions that show the precise relationship between ideas, and make the conclusion refer back to the comparison in the essay.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “internship,” “living expenses,” “independent,” “culture,” and “scholarship.” There are also attempts to express more specific concepts, such as students’ “future plans” and “academic score.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning less clear. For example, “conference” does not express the intended benefit, “explain new culture” is not the natural phrase for experiencing another culture, and “tusion fees” is misspelled. Repetition of “students,” “chance,” and “abroad” also limits flexibility. Build a bank of accurate phrases for education, employment, and costs, and check spelling and collocations when revising.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a reason clause with “because,” a result link with “as a result,” and a conditional structure beginning “if students got a chance.” The main message is usually understandable, but errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction occur across the response. Examples include “courses should gave,” “students does not have to depend,” and “they became more confident,” where the verb forms or agreement do not fit the intended meaning. The opening sentence also has an unclear structure, and the final conditional sentence is not grammatically complete in its logic. Practise accurate present-tense statements and conditional forms, and check subject–verb agreement and articles. More reliable control of these patterns would make your ideas easier to follow.

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