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)

In modern world, all universities should add a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a job in undergraduate courses. In universities there was a lot of benefits student acquire good quality of knowledge and also acheieve better communication skill when they meet new people everyday. In my opinion, I believe that both are good spent time in studying abroad or doing a work placement.

On the one hand, passed time in studying abroad is a good option but it depend on various factors. Student become more independent when they study abroad. For example, they do all types of own work like washing clothes,cleaning bedroom and making their own food that things make man punctual and responsible. In addition, student become more strong. For example, they face every difficulty alone because their parents are with them and they also bear all kinds of sorrow alone.

On the other hand, doing a work placement is a better way because a student get a lot of experience by doing job and after graduation more big companies offer him best jobs. For furthermore, it also have a impact on student studies. For example, student can focus one thing only because human mind can pick up one thing excellently at the same time.

In conclusion,both spent time studying abroad or doing a work placement are beneficial but it depends on many factors. From my perspective, i strongly beleive that both are beneficial for stundent because student become independent, more punctual, face every kind of difficulty and get good job and secure their future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both options—studying abroad and completing a work placement—and give a clear preference for including both, supported by points about independence, responsibility, experience and future employment. However, the response does not directly weigh whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages: it mentions that studying abroad “depend[s] on various factors” and that placements affect studies, but does not explain these drawbacks or compare them with the benefits. Several supporting ideas are also brief or unclear, such as the claim that students become “more strong” by facing difficulties alone. To strengthen the response, state explicitly which side outweighs the other and develop a balanced comparison with specific explanations or examples. The length requirement is met; 10 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two options, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the broad organisation. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven: several points are placed next to each other without showing how they support the main argument, and the conclusion repeats the benefits rather than resolving the question of whether they outweigh the disadvantages. Some linking is mechanical or inaccurate, particularly “For furthermore,” while repeated use of “For example” makes the development feel formulaic. Improve cohesion by linking each example explicitly to its claim and using clearer references and transitions between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “independent,” “responsible,” “experience,” and “secure their future.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make parts of the response difficult to interpret. Phrases such as “passed time in studying abroad,” “more big companies,” and “bear all kinds of sorrow” are not natural in this context; “acheieve,” “beleive,” and “stundent” also show spelling problems. Repeated use of “student,” “good,” and “beneficial” limits precision. Build a wider set of accurate expressions for education and employment, and check spelling and collocations carefully so your meaning is consistently clear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including examples introduced with “because” and “when.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently in basic sentence patterns as well as in longer attempts. For instance, “In universities there was a lot of benefits student acquire” has problems with tense, agreement, and sentence structure; “it depend on various factors” and “a student get” also show subject–verb agreement errors. Articles and plurals are inconsistent, as in “a impact” and “student studies,” and punctuation is often missing after introductory phrases or commas. Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a subordinate clause, then check verb agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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