Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-15

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)

Universities education plays an important role in preparing students in their future careers and helping them develop essential skills. It is often argued that all undergraduate courses should include period of time spent studying abroad or gaining practical experience. I believe that advantages of this approach will outweigh the disadvantages, as it enables student to get practial experience and improve their future career skills.

One of the main advantage of studying abroad or completing work placement enables student have relative experience and also working in campus in a team helps strengthen their communication skills also they can be able to apply theorical knowledge before their graduation. For example, students whodo internship at software house have proffessional experience and can get employment right after the graduation because employers want someone who is experienced or have a knowledge in the relative field.

Despites these benefits, studying abroad may also have some disadvantages, particularly in terms of financial costs and acedamic pressure. Studying abroad can be expensive because students have to pay for accomodation, transportation and other living expenses, which may lead to financial burden on their families. Moreover, balancing studies with work can be difficult as student do not get time for their course work. For example, students working part-time may struggles to meet assignment deadlines and prepare for their examinations. These consequences will effect their academic studies very badly and leads them to loss of time.

In conclusion, although studying abroad can have financial and academic

problems. I believe the advantages of this outweight its disadvantages because students get to spend their time working in a proffessional environment which develops their communication skills and team work.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. You address both sides, giving relevant benefits such as practical experience, teamwork and improved employment prospects, and drawbacks including costs and pressure on academic work. The software-house internship example helps illustrate the employment point. However, some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained: for instance, the link between studying abroad and career skills is not developed as clearly as the work-placement argument, and the conclusion mainly repeats earlier points. To strengthen the response, explain more precisely how each benefit applies across different courses and why it outweighs the financial and academic costs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for benefits and disadvantages, and a conclusion. This makes the main line of argument easy to identify. However, progression within sentences is sometimes difficult to follow, particularly in the first body paragraph, where several points are joined together: “also working in campus in a team helps strengthen their communication skills also they can be able to apply…” The repeated use of “also” and “for example” makes linking somewhat mechanical, while “Despite these benefits” signals a contrast effectively. Improve cohesion by giving each paragraph a clear topic sentence, separating distinct points, and using pronouns or linking phrases that make relationships between ideas explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “practical experience,” “communication skills,” “financial burden,” “assignment deadlines” and “professional environment.” These choices help convey the main ideas. However, the range and control are limited by repeated general terms such as “students,” “skills” and “experience,” as well as inaccurate word forms, spelling and collocations. Examples include “practial,” “theorical,” “acedamic,” “proffessional,” and “loss of time”; these errors can distract the reader and occasionally make phrasing unclear. Aim to check spelling carefully and choose more precise expressions, such as “academic workload” or “gain industry experience.” Varying vocabulary while keeping collocations natural would make the argument more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a concession in “although studying abroad can have financial and academic problems” and a reason clause beginning “because students have to pay…”. However, sentence structures are often faulty, and errors in agreement, articles and verb forms recur. For example, “One of the main advantage” needs a plural noun, while “enables student have” is missing both an article and “to.” In “students working part-time may struggles,” the verb form does not agree with the modal. Some sentences also run together, especially the first body paragraph, making relationships between clauses unclear. Work on building shorter, complete sentences first, then combine ideas with accurate subordinate clauses and check subject–verb agreement.

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