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)

It is widely argue that all university undergraduated courses should include a period of time to abroad for studying or doing a job.Although some might consider it negative, i believe it to be extremely beneficial. Not only becaouse of job oppertunity and experience but also because of living style.

There are multiple adsvantages associated with studying abroad.Firstly,job opportunity can be considered as the leading benefit of this development.As a student do job and can support teir family as well. Take an example of Pakistan, thaousand of pakistani students doing job in abroad so in this way they support their families.Thus,tis mega benefit i believe that has the potential to make this development to a positive development.

Secondly, apart from job opportunity,experience can also be another major benefit.As student do job not only for money it also come with full experience so student can get promotion and will perform much better in mega projects.Hence,experience can be labelled as the most significant advantage, giving this development a positive outlook.

Finally,environment can also be considered as the leading benefit of this development. studing abroad help student learn about their culture and explore new places as apart of their degree as well .This makes them open minded and independent,Second doing a work placement give students get more experience, Instead of just reading books this give student real world job that help them to take responsibilities in future.For example, a business student who completes an internship in an office will understand business much better than someone who only sit in a classroom.

To sum up,even though studying abroad might have some drawbacks too, but i believe that the benefit it brings in terms of job opportunity,living better style and experience can make this development an overall positive one.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and you give relevant reasons involving employment, experience, and cultural exposure. The example of a Pakistani student supporting their family and the business internship example help make the discussion more concrete. However, the response mainly develops advantages and gives little attention to what the disadvantages might be, despite acknowledging them in the introduction and conclusion. Some points are also unclear or repeated: the employment benefit is presented several times, while the claim that students can get promoted through a placement needs explanation. To strengthen the response, briefly discuss a realistic drawback, such as cost or disruption to studies, and explain why the benefits still outweigh it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate body paragraphs and a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” “Finally,” and “To sum up” make the progression easy to follow. The main ideas are generally grouped by topic, and the internship example supports the final paragraph. However, linking is sometimes mechanical, and some connections are unclear. For instance, “Second doing a work placement” appears abruptly after the point about cultural learning, while “Thus” introduces a conclusion that is difficult to interpret. Repetition of “leading benefit” and “positive development” also weakens progression. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example directly to the claim it supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “work placement,” “promotion,” “independent,” “open minded,” and “real world,” which helps communicate the main ideas. However, the range is limited and several spelling errors or inaccurate word choices make the writing less clear, such as “undergraduated,” “oppertunity,” “adsvantages,” and “living style.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise, including “job opportunity can be considered as the leading benefit” and “mega benefit.” Repeated use of “benefit,” “experience,” and “development” further limits variety. Aim for accurate topic-specific collocations and check spelling carefully; more precise wording will make your argument sound clearer and more academic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including the opening contrast with “Although” and the example beginning “For example, a business student…”. These attempts show some range, but errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. For example, “As a student do job and can support teir family” lacks a clear subject and has faulty verb structure, while “Second doing a work placement give students get more experience” combines sentence patterns incorrectly. There are also problems with agreement and articles, as in “experience… it also come” and “a student… who only sit.” Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent. Practise building complete clauses and checking subject–verb agreement before adding more complex structures.

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