Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-17

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)

In recent years, several university undergraduate programes have to add a period of time duration in which students can experience the abroad study or having an practical work experience. While this change offers several advantages, it also has certain drawbacks.

On the one hand, there are a number of advantages to students going abroad during there undergraduate degree which provides them a different exposure of working with new people and learning new skills. This is because they born and brought up in the same country so they have only experience of there home country education and teaching methods where as in many western countries used different method of learning and teaching methods. For eg. learning a periodic table in India has pnemonics where as periodic table can be learned by the charts and cards. As a result, interating with new environment in abroad or a workplace help to grow there skills and enhance there interest of that particular programe.

On the other hand, Studying abroad or doing a work placement during there undergraduate degree also has some disadvantages. One significant drawback is that not all students are open to adapt the new environment fastly. This means they might face issues in adjusting in a new place which is completely different from there home country or there comfort zone. For instance, many student might face difficulty in language barrier, food and accomodation like several countries do not speak english or hindi so, student might face difficulty in communication with classmates and local people. Consequently, student may feel loneliness and even depression which is very common in western and european countries.

In conclusion, although undergraduate courses should add a period where student can experience the study approad or doing a work placement provides benefits such as developing there interests and interating new people to build the connections and networking which helps in their carrier growth, it also has drawbacks, including language barrier and food preferences. Overall, the advantages and disadvantages should be considered.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both the benefits and drawbacks, and your examples about different teaching methods and difficulties with language, food and accommodation are relevant. However, the question asks whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and your position is not clear: the conclusion says that “the advantages and disadvantages should be considered” rather than stating which side is stronger. The benefits are also only briefly explained, while the drawbacks receive more specific development. For example, you mention that overseas experience can build skills and interest, but do not explain how this would benefit students’ studies or future careers. Make a direct comparison and support a consistent view with more developed reasons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. The contrast markers “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” along with “For instance” and “Consequently,” help readers follow the main stages. This coherent organisation meets the lower-band expectations, and the paragraphing is appropriate. To make progression more consistently clear, ensure that each example directly develops the point before it and avoid packing several ideas into the conclusion. References such as “this change” and “which” can also be made more precise so readers can immediately identify what they refer to. The conclusion should synthesise the comparison and state your answer to the outweigh question.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “work placement,” “teaching methods,” “communication,” and “networking.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling, word-form and collocation errors make parts of the response difficult to read. Examples include “programes,” “interating,” “pnemonics,” and “carrier growth”; these errors can obscure meaning rather than simply reduce polish. Some phrases are also imprecise, such as “a different exposure” and “experience the abroad study.” Build a reliable set of expressions for international study and employment, and check spelling and natural word combinations. More precise vocabulary would help you explain the benefits and drawbacks without relying on repeated general terms such as “difficulty” and “different.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt complex sentences using clauses and linking structures, for example, “This means they might face issues in adjusting…” and “although… it also has drawbacks.” However, the range is limited in practice because many sentences contain frequent errors in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence construction. For instance, “they born and brought up” needs an auxiliary verb, while “working… help” does not agree with its subject. The opening sentence, “several… programes have to add,” also has an unclear verb pattern. These errors sometimes make the intended relationships difficult to follow. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then combine them with subordinate clauses, checking subject–verb agreement and article use.

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