Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-23

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)

Currently many universities practice having different types of method in giving experience or practice to the undergraduate students. Both has advantages and disadvantages.

There are few colleges which sent their students to abroad for practice or to gain more work knowledge. This will be really helpful for the students as they can explore many new ideas, the new technology in the other country and other such things. For example, in dentistry field there are some institutes which send their students to the abroad countries. Those provide a golden oppurtunity for the students to explore the new ideas, the materials they use, the new devices, technology, method in which they treat and approach a problem related to tooth, treatment plans and most importantly waste management. Eventhough there are many advantages there are disadvantages too like when students do go to abroad for exposure, they only get to know or other stuff rather than working to gain more experience.

On the other side, there are some universities which provoide internship in their own institute which has more advantages. For example, taking a dental university to illustrate again, when it provoides students to work on their campus as an internship for a year or so it will be really helpful for the students. They can gain more experience, they can make mistakes and learn from them and most importanly they gain a confidence over a procedure. After an a year of internship they can visit a country for expose and learn new things.

As a conclusion, i would say that doing an internship can be more useful for the students as it gathers experience or more work knowledge and having a expose at a foreign country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the question by comparing overseas study or exposure with an internship at the student’s own university, and your conclusion favours gaining practical experience first. The dentistry examples make the discussion relevant, particularly the points about learning procedures and waste management. However, the task asks whether the advantages of requiring a period abroad or a work placement outweigh the disadvantages. Your position is not fully clear: you mention disadvantages of going abroad, but do not explain their significance or directly weigh them against the benefits. The claim that an internship is more useful also shifts the focus from comparing advantages and disadvantages of the proposed requirement. Develop a consistent answer and support the comparison with clearer reasons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting different forms of experience, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the other side” and “As a conclusion” help signal movement between sections. However, progression is not always clear because the essay moves from overseas exposure to local internships without explicitly linking this comparison to the question of whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Some connections within sentences are also unclear, as in “they only get to know or other stuff rather than working to gain more experience.” Repeated use of “For example” and “they can” makes the cohesion somewhat mechanical. Use clearer topic sentences and refer explicitly to the benefits and drawbacks being compared.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “internship,” “technology,” “treatment plans,” “waste management,” and “gain more experience.” These terms help communicate the dentistry example. However, the range is limited and several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. For instance, “a expose at a foreign country” and “explore the new ideas” do not express the intended meaning naturally; “provoide” and “oppurtunity” also show spelling errors. Repetition of “experience,” “students,” and “new things” further restricts variety. Build a bank of accurate collocations for education and employment, and check spelling and word forms when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a complex example beginning “when it provoides students to work on their campus.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and frequent errors affect clarity. Examples include “Both has advantages,” where the subject and verb do not agree, and “there are few colleges which sent,” where the tense does not fit the general statement. Articles and sentence patterns are also problematic in “to abroad” and “After an a year.” Some sentences run together or contain unclear clauses, particularly the sentence about what students “only get to know.” Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, articles, and past versus present forms, then divide long sentences into clear clauses and proofread punctuation.

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