Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 educational institutes students should spent a specific period of time learning in different country or doing internship. In my viewpoint, the benefits surpass the drawbacks because of many reasons.

The foremost reward is gaining the experience by working in profession which they are studying. Learners get to know a lot when they started working what they are studying. For example, a student is working as receptionist in one of the clinic. He or she will learn most of thing while working and they will know how to implement things what they are learning in real-life expereience. The biggest detriment is that they have to life without their loved ones. It would be challenging for them. If they work far from their homes and travelling is not an option then they ended leaving their house and living alone.

Another plus is they will be more independent and mature ahead of the time. They will get a chance to get familiar with the work environment which make them feel to work independent and get better understading of their surroundings. For instance, a person who started working as a trainee in one of the facility where he learns everything. When training periods end, he knows what to do from very first day. Another downside is they ended up started working so early that they will miss their fun day that college students usually do. They will engaged in their assignments and work that they will not get time to have fun in their life. Their life would only run around deadlines and shifts.

To sum up, it is evident that they get a chance to do internship and study abroad while they are studying their course because of gaining the experience and become more independent and mature, however; they will have to live alone and will not get chance to live their life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and state a clear view in the introduction: the benefits “surpass the drawbacks.” Relevant advantages include gaining professional experience and becoming more independent, while the disadvantages are separation from loved ones and reduced time for social activities. The clinic receptionist example helps illustrate practical learning. However, some points are less fully developed: the independence example largely repeats the work-experience point, and the disadvantages are asserted rather than explored in depth. The conclusion restates the position but could weigh the benefits against the costs more explicitly. To strengthen the response, explain why these gains are valuable across different courses and how universities could reduce the personal or social difficulties.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each body paragraph presents advantages alongside a disadvantage, and signposts such as “The foremost reward,” “Another plus,” and “To sum up” make the direction of the argument easy to follow. However, this repeated pattern can feel mechanical, and the links between ideas are sometimes unclear. For example, the shift from the clinic example to “The biggest detriment” is abrupt, while “Another downside” introduces a new concern without showing how it relates to the preceding point. Some references, such as “they” and “he or she,” are also not always precise. Organise the advantages and disadvantages more distinctly and use clearer transitions to show how each example supports the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “internship,” “work environment,” “independent,” “mature,” and “deadlines.” These terms help communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, which can make parts of the response less clear. Examples include “All educational institutes students,” “gaining the experience by working in profession,” and “their fun day.” There are also spelling errors such as “expereience” and “understading.” Aim for more precise academic phrasing, such as “undergraduate students,” “gain professional experience,” and “social activities,” and check spelling carefully. Vary repeated words such as “working” and “learns” with accurate alternatives where appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If they work far from their homes…” and a relative clause in “a facility where he learns everything.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction recur. For example, “students should spent” should be “students should spend,” “when they started working” needs a consistent tense, and “which make them feel” should be “which makes them feel.” The sentence “they ended leaving their house” also has an incorrect verb pattern. Some sentences combine several ideas without clear grammatical control. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and verb patterns, and use a wider range of complex structures only when you can control them reliably.

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

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