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)

Nowadays, the couses studied by the students in the universities are seems enough for the development of the students, but there are discussions in the acedamic area about providing the student the facility of studying abroad for some period of time during the coursework or there are another option which is work placement. It has both of its pros and cons which we have to understand.

Many people argue that the current course of the university students are traditional and non effective which has to be alter according the need of modern era. The first advantage they count while telling benefits of studying abroad is that students will get to know the study culture of study in other nations.moreover this will increase the social charactristics of the student,furthermore studying abroad in a different environment will keep them tied up with the study without getting bored. For example, if a student go abroad for studies he will explore lots of new places of that country this will keep them interested in the study.

Other thinks that the second option which is work placement during study will increase the exposure of the student to the working environment and culture, and this will also experiance of corpoate sector before completing their graduation.

on the other hand some of the people are aginst the inclusion of work placment and studying abroad as a cousework. the argument they present in their defense is that when a student go abroad for a short period of time he will not be interested in the studies as he or she has to explore lots of places in short period of time, this will keep them away from studies. And for work placement thr opinion tells that it is most unusable thing because it will have less advantages than disadvantages due to short period of experiance.

in my view including time period for studying abroad and work placement is a good option due to the fact that it reduces the stress of continious study and make them fresh as they return to the remaining course of the study.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both studying abroad and work placements, give reasons for each, and state your view in the final paragraph: these experiences are worthwhile because they can reduce the pressure of continuous study. However, the response only partly answers the central question of whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The benefits are mentioned, but the disadvantages are not weighed against them, and your conclusion does not explicitly say which side is stronger. Some support is also unclear: the claim that exploring places will keep students interested does not explain how this improves their education. Develop a clear comparative position and support each main point with a specific, relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, paragraphs presenting benefits and objections, and a concluding opinion. This helps the reader follow the broad direction of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to track, particularly where several ideas are joined together in long sentences. Connectors such as “moreover,” “furthermore,” and “on the other hand” are used, but the relationships between claims are not always clear; for example, the paragraph about work placement ends without a developed explanation. References such as “Other thinks” and “thr opinion” also make it harder to identify whose view is being presented. Use clearer topic sentences and link each supporting explanation directly to its main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “work placement,” “working environment,” “exposure,” and “graduation.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make parts of the argument difficult to read. Examples include “study culture of study,” “social charactristics,” “corpoate sector,” and “most unusable thing.” Some expressions are vague or unnatural, such as “keep them tied up with the study” and “the facility of studying abroad.” Aim for precise academic phrasing and check spelling carefully. Replacing repeated general terms such as “student” and “study” with accurate alternatives would also make the response more flexible and natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “because” and “as,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence boundaries frequently interrupt the reader. For example, “the couses … are seems enough” combines incompatible verb forms, while “if a student go abroad” has incorrect subject–verb agreement. Several sentences run together, as in the example about exploring places, and the final sentence has problems with parallel structure (“reduces … and make”). Practise building shorter, accurate sentences first, then combine ideas using one clear subordinate clause at a time. Check agreement and punctuation during revision.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.