Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-20

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)

University is a place where memories are made and a place where a person is pratically taught how to survive in the world. During there university times, students experience multiple challenges which eventually help them to make how to handle different issue. In recent days, there have been an ongoing trend where universities generally give students the opportunity to either spend one semester study abroad or spend 6 months spend doig work placement. In my opinion all universities should provide students with these options as it will play a vital role in their growth.

There are many advantages if universities consider this options. Generally in universities students are being taught theoretical courses, from which students can't learn much compared to if the use these theoretical knowledge in pratical job. A common example can be : In Computer Science, we are being taught differnet courses like Mobile application development courses etc. Majority of them are just theory so if student opt for going to work placement, then they can use this knowledge to solve real industry problems, and understand what are the skills trending in the market right now.

By spending time abroad or doing work placement, it will help studnts to realize the important of finances, and how it is like to live independtly and surviving on your own instead of just going to university, spending time with friends. They will get the sense of ownership and help them to understand the sacrifice of their parents.

In today world, socializing and global exposure plays a very important and vital role for once to succeed in their life. Once the student enter in cooperate life even for small duration of time, they will make establish connections which will later on in the life help them to succeed. If you have connections before you graduate, you get a headstart instead of others. Similarly, if you have experience of studying abroad other then your degree, you create options for yourself which you can opt once you are graduated. Example: Student A went to complete his 6th semester abroad in Italy. So once the student landed, firstly he will get an entire new exposure, and after spending 6 months, he would have created so much opportunities for himself like getting approval from professor under which he can pursue his higher studies like Masters or by doing internship and make connections there, so once he graduated he can get job within the same organization.

So, to summarize studying abroad or doing work placement during undergraduate courses should be made compulsory, as it will be for student's benefits.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you support making overseas study or work placements compulsory, and you give relevant reasons, including applying academic knowledge, gaining independence, and building professional connections. The Computer Science example and the student’s experience in Italy help illustrate these benefits. However, the response focuses almost entirely on advantages, so it does not fully weigh them against disadvantages, which is central to the question. Some points are also less developed: for example, the claim that students will understand their parents’ sacrifices is stated but not explained, and the Italy example lists possible outcomes without showing how likely or significant they are. Addressing costs, access, or disruption to study, then explaining why the benefits still outweigh these drawbacks, would make the argument more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs on practical learning and personal development, a further paragraph on career and international opportunities, and a conclusion. Ideas generally progress in a sensible order, and examples are placed alongside the points they support. However, some links are mechanical or unclear. The repeated use of “Similarly” and “So” does little to show the precise relationship between ideas, while “By spending time abroad or doing work placement, it will help…” has an unclear reference to what “it” means. The long paragraph about socialising, connections, and the Italy example also combines several related but distinct points. Use clearer topic sentences and more precise referencing, and separate the career and study-abroad benefits where needed.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “theoretical courses,” “work placement,” “global exposure,” “connections,” and “higher studies.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, but the range and control are limited by repeated general words such as “help,” “students,” and “opportunities,” as well as inaccurate or unnatural combinations. For instance, “understand the important of finances” and “make establish connections” are not natural expressions, and “options” is repeated where more precise terms could clarify the point. Spelling errors such as “pratically,” “differnet,” and “independtly” also reduce accuracy. Build a bank of topic-specific collocations and check spelling and word forms during revision; this would make your meaning more precise and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “if,” “which,” and “instead of,” and the overall meaning is usually understandable. However, some errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles, and verb forms remain. For example, “During there university times” has an incorrect possessive form, while “Once the student enter” does not maintain subject–verb agreement. The construction “By spending time abroad or doing work placement, it will help students…” also has a dangling opening phrase, and “they will make establish connections” contains an incorrect verb pattern. Some sentences are long and difficult to control, particularly the Italy example. Practise building complex sentences around a clear subject, and check agreement, articles, and verb patterns when editing.

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