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)

Universities play vital role in a person's future career, especially those who provide us international exposure and hands-on experience help alot in the long term. Universities in which undergraduate courses have a short span of time spent studying outside the country and doing internship have much greater edge over the others. Nowadays, employers want those type of people which have practical knowledge or experience about the field.

Enabling students in overseas studies help them build strong relations with people of there field of study. It encourages them to have a much broader prespective of life. Studying overseas about they choosen undergraduate course improves their prior knowledge. These sort of activities develop critical thinking and problem solving abilities in a undergraduates. Alot of idea sharing helps build new knowledge. For instance, universities who take their learners in such environments see a magnificent increase in interest in their studies.

Doing a work placement helps in building solid foundational knowledge about a particular discipline. Afterwards, including it in the CV attracts employers without any trial. As most of the companies prefer undergraduates with some sort of work experience in the area of work. Then, there'll be no need for training course before joining an organization. Work experience also introduce undergraduates to their chosen field in a favourable manner.

In conclusion, studying in a foreign country or performing a placement enables student evaluate their current level understanding of their discipline and it encourages them to excel more. Various new opportunities become availabe along the way. Undergraduates also feel more enthusiat and energtic after such kind of activites.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the topic by discussing both overseas study and work placements, and your conclusion indicates that you support including these experiences in undergraduate courses. Relevant benefits include broader perspectives, practical knowledge, stronger professional connections and improved employment prospects. However, the question asks whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and you do not identify or assess any disadvantages. Your position is therefore only partly developed, and several claims—such as employers being attracted to a CV “without any trial”—need clearer explanation or a specific example. To strengthen the response, state your comparative judgement directly in the introduction, consider at least one realistic drawback, and explain why the benefits are more significant.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs on overseas study and work placement, and a conclusion. This makes the main topics easy to follow. Some links between ideas are also clear, as in the progression from work experience to employers’ preferences and reduced training needs. However, the argument does not progress towards a comparison of advantages and disadvantages, and some connections are abrupt or unclear. For example, “Afterwards” does not clearly show how the CV point follows from the preceding sentence, while “Then” introduces the training point mechanically. Use linking phrases to show cause, contrast and comparison, and make sure each paragraph develops one central point in a logical sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “hands-on experience,” “critical thinking,” “problem solving abilities” and “foundational knowledge.” These expressions help communicate the subject matter, and the meaning is generally understandable. However, several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors make the language less precise: “much greater edge” is awkward, “without any trial” does not express the intended employment advantage clearly, and “magnificent increase” is an unnatural description of student interest. There are also spelling errors such as “prespective,” “availabe” and “energitc.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations and check spelling carefully. More precise terms such as “competitive advantage” and “employment prospects” would suit this discussion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including relative clauses and cause-and-effect structures. Most of the message remains understandable, but errors in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “Universities play vital role” needs an article, and “Enabling students in overseas studies help them” has an unclear subject and incorrect agreement. In “Work experience also introduce undergraduates,” the verb does not agree with its subject; “enables student evaluate” also needs a plural or article and an infinitive marker. Some sentences, such as the opening, combine ideas in a way that makes the grammatical relationship unclear. Practise building accurate complex sentences and proofread agreement and articles.

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