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)

All university undergraduate courses should add a period of time enjoy studying overseas or doing a work placement. I believe that the advantages of studying overseas or doing a work placement outweigh the disadvantages.

On the one hand, studying overseas can give an opportunity to the students to learn about practical tasks more widely or doing a work assignment in a different country will develop their skills. It can also allow them to take part in various co-curriculam activities and competitions. For example, if the students gets an opportunity to study abroad or doing work then the students can show their skills and also they can learn more ideas about their courses and other practical tasks such as thesis, assignment, work, presantation etc. As a result, the students may pursue their goals easily.

On the other hand, the university may not receive the credits and also the students may migrate to another country. But, it depends on particular students carrier and their choices. If students have strong relation with their own homeland then they will build up their rest of the carrier in homeland. For example, if a student get the permit to stay in abroad from the local council or any workshop then it will be a loss to the university and also for the country. Thus, students will build up their rest of the carrier in overseas rather than their own country.

From my perspective, I believe all university should enable a period of time for studying overseas or doing a work placement because it will allow the students to show their skills and tasks in a different country also they can learn more practical knowledge about their courses

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You state a clear view in the introduction and conclusion: the benefits of overseas study or placements outweigh the drawbacks. You also address both sides, mentioning practical learning and the possibility that students may remain abroad. However, the advantages are not always explained precisely: the link between studying abroad, competitions, and achieving goals is asserted rather than developed. The disadvantage paragraph focuses mainly on migration and the university or country losing students, while the point about credits is introduced but not explained. To strengthen the response, explain how these experiences benefit students and give a more specific account of costs or disruption as a counterargument, then show why the benefits outweigh it. The position is relevant, but supporting ideas remain limited and under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a concluding opinion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “From my perspective” help readers identify the stages of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the first body paragraph moves from practical tasks to competitions and then to a list of academic activities without showing how these points connect. The repeated use of “students” and “also” makes the linking feel mechanical, and “But, it depends” does not clearly connect the migration concern to the preceding point about credits. Use clearer topic sentences and develop one main idea at a time, with references that make the relationship between claims explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “work placement,” “practical knowledge,” “co-curricular activities,” and “permit.” This gives you enough language to communicate the general argument, but the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “learn about practical tasks more widely” and “build up their rest of the carrier” do not express your intended ideas naturally; “carrier” also appears to be a spelling error for “career.” There are further spelling and form errors in “co-curriculam” and “presantation.” Aim to use precise phrases such as “gain practical experience” and “continue their careers,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including conditional forms such as “if the students gets an opportunity” and clauses beginning with “because” and “if.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to process. Examples include “the students gets,” where the subject and verb do not agree, and “if a student get,” which also needs a correctly formed verb. The opening phrase “should add a period of time enjoy studying” has an incomplete grammatical construction, while the final sentence lacks clear punctuation and a complete separation of its ideas. Practise accurate conditional sentences and subject–verb agreement, and use shorter, controlled sentences when expressing several points.

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