Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-22

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)

It is often argued that all university undergraduate students should be required to either study in another country or doing an internship or job placement as a part of their degree. In my perspective it has disadvantages because it effects the student study.

On one hand, students that are d studying abroad gains real world experience and while students that are doing an internship making it easier to get job after graduation. This develops independence and soft skills. For instance, the students that are doing internship gets hand on experience on their field and get practical skills helps them which help them to grow faster tan a student that starts it internship after degree. The students also get independent financially and can deal with all real life problems.

On the other hand, undergraduate students that are doing internship or studying abroad gets difficulty financially due to the extra cost like, travelling and living expenses. Majorly unpaid placements can be to expensive for many students and also for changing slots for every students can be logistically very difficult for university. For instance, the students that are studies abroad are missing their family because of high cost of flights they are are not going to their home town. Daily expenses and accommodation costs are very high.

In my perspective studying abroad or doing unpaid internship or work placement has more disadvantages rather than advantages. Because student faces difficulty to manage time or expenses in foreign countries.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both options in the prompt and give a position: you believe the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The response also identifies relevant benefits, such as practical experience and independence, and drawbacks, including travel and living costs. However, the position is not fully consistent: the opening says the requirement has disadvantages, while the conclusion specifically focuses on unpaid placements and studying abroad, without clearly comparing the overall benefits and costs. Several points are asserted rather than explained—for example, how placements help students “grow faster” is not made precise. The response is also 6 words below the required minimum. Develop the comparison more fully, explain who is most affected and why, and support the conclusion with a clear weighing of both sides.

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. The signposts “On one hand” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the broad contrast. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven: the first body paragraph moves from job prospects to practical skills and financial independence without clearly connecting these points, while the final paragraph repeats the view that there are more disadvantages rather than summarising the comparison. Some references are difficult to follow, such as “which help them” and “changing slots for every students.” Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and make the conclusion draw together the main comparison rather than simply restating the position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “internship,” “practical skills,” “financially,” “living expenses,” and “accommodation costs.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive. For example, “effects the student study” does not express the intended idea clearly, “hand on experience” is not the natural phrase, and “to expensive” contains a spelling error. Repeated use of “students” and “cost” also makes the writing less precise. Build a wider set of accurate phrases for discussing affordability, employment prospects, and personal development, and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including a contrast between students who study abroad and those who take placements. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to interpret. Examples include “students … gains,” “students that are doing an internship making it easier,” and “students that are studies abroad,” where verb forms and agreement are not controlled. The opening also uses “to either study … or doing,” which does not keep the two verb forms parallel. There are problems with articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries as well. Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a clearly connected explanation, then check subject–verb agreement and parallel structures.

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