Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-19

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)

All the courses of undergraduate programes at university should must include a time period to spend while studying in other countries or doing work somewhere. As many top class universities have student semester exchange programs or have facilities to provide interships to there studends at different companies. These efforts have great benefits for students to learn different techniques in each course which are studying, teaching in other countries. Students can get benefits of gaining practical experience in each course of there programe. For example a person i personally know, was studyding agriculture in turkey university. He got selected for students semester exchange program with a univerity in italy. According to him there was a great difference in reasearch they are conducted there.

In my opinion the benefits of this would be higher then the problem causing by this. Like i agree by shifting to other country for a semester. The focus would be distracted from study. Adjusting in new environment will be take time. But however this can be manage by providing attention to the students. Similarly by working at place the acedamic study will be affecting and distrurbing by work. But still student can get practical working experience and later they manage there other course tasks. Previously i met with my seniour at univerty. He was working at a research station, he told me he had conducted research there and it was so beneficial for him alongside with acedamic learning.

We can conclude that student can get many benfits and can be able to maintain there theory, while getting new experences so it is very imporatant for univerities to provide such activities for there all course

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both the benefits and drawbacks and give a clear overall view: “the benefits of this would be higher then the problem.” Relevant support includes the exchange student’s comparison of agricultural research in Turkey and Italy, and your senior’s experience at a research station. These examples make the argument more specific. However, some points are only briefly explained. For instance, you mention that moving abroad may distract students and take time to adjust, but do not explain how these effects could be reduced or how they compare with the long-term gains. Develop the reasoning behind your examples and clarify why the advantages outweigh the disruption to academic study; this would make the response more fully supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has an overall structure: an opening paragraph introduces the benefits, the next considers disadvantages before reaffirming your view, and a final sentence concludes. Linking expressions such as “For example,” “Similarly,” and “But still” help show relationships between ideas. However, some connections feel mechanical or unclear. “Like i agree by shifting to other country for a semester” does not clearly introduce the drawback, and “But however” uses two contrasting signals together. The conclusion also repeats the general claim rather than drawing together the main comparison. Use clearer topic sentences and make each paragraph’s progression explicit—for example, explain the drawback, then directly show why the practical experience outweighs it. This would make the cohesion more consistent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “semester exchange program,” “practical experience,” “research station,” and “academic learning,” so the reader can follow the main subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making meaning less clear. Examples include “problem causing by this,” “the focus would be distracted,” and “maintain there theory.” Spelling errors such as “interships,” “studyding,” and “benfits” also occur repeatedly and reduce precision. Aim to learn common academic collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise expressions for the effects of placements and study abroad would help you explain your ideas without relying on repeated general words such as “benefits” and “experience.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “a person i personally know, was studyding agriculture” and a contrast between academic study and work experience. However, errors in sentence construction and verb forms are frequent enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “should must include” combines two modal forms, while “Adjusting in new environment will be take time” has problems with the article and verb pattern. In “the acedamic study will be affecting,” the verb form is not correctly constructed. Practise building accurate clauses with one clear subject and verb, and review modal verbs, articles, and verb patterns. This will make your argument easier to read while preserving your attempts at complex sentences.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.