Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-13

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 5.0)

Work placement has been playing a crucial role in our daily lives. Universities which offers work placement instead of abroad studies have much intelligent students as compared to other educational institutes. Because most of the time educational institutes focuses on memorizing things.

There are several factors in which one factor is lack of creativity. Almost all of the teaching institutes like University forces student to memorize things which lead to lack of creativity in students. Students with less creativity may not be able to be successful in the professional career. For Instance, a student with a Bachelor's degree having the grade of A+ may not be able to succeed in securing jobs in the market because university purely focused on abroad studies in free time and neglected the idea of work placement.

Work placement plays an important role in the professional career as it have much advantages as compared to the international studies. The reason is that employers want only those students who are pre-trained so that they don't have to provide students with training sessions. Let's suppose, a student with low gpa and have prior job experience, he will be able to secure the job opportunity even if other student have high gpa with lack of creative skills the human resource manager will refuse them.

Quite contrary to that, some people believe that studying abroad is much favourable as compared to the work placement because it will help in securing more job opportunities and also helps a student in his/her professional career. Let's suppose, student holding degree of international educational institutes have edge on the other domestic students and he may secure more jobs because he will have various skills and strategies.

At the end, the work placement is significantly more important as compared to Abroad studies and job placement have more advantages which leads a person to a successful path of his career.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is that work placement is more valuable than studying abroad, and you give relevant reasons, especially employers’ preference for applicants with practical experience. The comparison with a graduate who has a high GPA but little workplace experience helps illustrate this point. You also acknowledge the opposing view that international study can provide skills and improve job prospects. However, the response only partly addresses the task: the opening discusses work placement versus memorisation, and the example about a university focusing on “abroad studies in free time” is unclear and does not convincingly support the argument. Develop the benefits and drawbacks of both options more directly, and explain why the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable paragraph structure: it introduces the topic, presents reasons for work placement, considers studying abroad, and ends with a conclusion. This gives the reader a basic route through your argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and several links feel mechanical or inaccurate. For example, “There are several factors in which one factor is lack of creativity” repeats the same idea rather than clearly introducing a reason. The transition “Quite contrary to that” signals a contrast, but the opposing view is not fully connected to the earlier argument. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main point, then explain and support it in a logical sequence with fewer repetitive linking phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to education and employment, including “professional career,” “prior job experience,” “job opportunities,” and “human resource manager.” These choices make your general subject clear. However, the range is limited and several word combinations are unnatural or imprecise, such as “much intelligent students,” “secure the job opportunity,” and “successful path of his career.” Repetition of “work placement,” “students,” and “advantages” also limits flexibility. Aim to use more precise expressions for the benefits of practical experience and international study, while checking that words naturally combine. For instance, describe students as “more employable” and say they “gain practical experience” rather than relying on repeated general terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences and subordinate clauses, for example, “The reason is that employers want only those students who are pre-trained so that they don't have to provide students with training sessions.” This shows an effort to express cause and qualification. However, errors are frequent, and complex sentences are often difficult to control. Examples include “Universities which offers,” “educational institutes focuses,” and “as it have much advantages,” where subject–verb agreement is incorrect. Articles and sentence construction also need attention, as in “Let's suppose, student holding degree” and “he will be able to secure the job opportunity even if other student have high gpa.” Practise building accurate sentences first, especially agreement, articles, and plural forms, before adding multiple clauses.

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