Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-24

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)

A thought of doing a academics in a foreign country while doing undergraduate diplomas or do a work in that period of time. I strongly believe students should continue their studies in foriegn country. except few drawbacks there are numerous benefits to offer.

To begin with, there are many reasons why undergraduate students should pursue further studies abroad. The dominant reason is better future opportunities. As there studying in abroad makes them better in academic performances, Due to which has many job opportunities.

For example, abroad teaches students more skills and better communication. As a result, it gives them many crucial benefits in the future. In addition, students become more independent.

To explain this, they learn how to survive alone in any situation. If any problems coming in their lives, they not only face problems, but also they learm problem solving skills. Students do many practical experiences staying in abroad.

However, there are many adverse affects of staying in abroad for academics. The prominent reason is the high expenses. To elaborate this, staying in abroad is too expensive. Even accommodation and other expenses. For instance, which students do study in canada, they have to pay a lot of taxes. As a result, travelling, accomodation and living can be expensive.

Apart from this, there is one more disadvantage is stress and adjustment problems, living in abroad is not that easy in a different culture and with a different community. some students feel difficult to adjust. However, it becomes stressfull for them living in abroad.

In conclusion, although living in abroad expensive and stressfull. It teach them many skills, like problem-solving skills and better communication and better opportunities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both the benefits and drawbacks and give a clear overall preference for studying abroad, especially in the introduction and conclusion. Relevant benefits include improved communication, independence and problem-solving, while cost and cultural adjustment are appropriate disadvantages. However, the response only partly answers the precise proposal: the task allows either overseas study or a work placement, but your discussion focuses almost entirely on studying abroad. Several points are also asserted rather than explained—for example, the link between studying abroad and “better future opportunities” is not supported with a specific example, and the Canada example about taxes is unclear. Develop fewer ideas more fully and explain why the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on drawbacks and a conclusion. The contrast signalled by “However” helps the reader follow the shift to disadvantages, and examples are generally placed near the points they support. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, particularly in the benefits paragraph, where academic performance, job opportunities, communication and independence are introduced in quick succession without clear links. Some connectors are mechanical or do not form complete relationships, such as “As a result” and “To explain this.” The conclusion repeats earlier points rather than clearly weighing them. Use topic sentences and connect each explanation directly to its main idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “independent,” “problem-solving skills,” “accommodation,” and “adjustment problems.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several phrases are repeated, especially “living in abroad” and “better.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, including “foriegn,” “learm,” “affects” where “effects” is intended, and “stressfull.” Some collocations are unnatural, such as “doing a academics” and “practical experiences staying in abroad,” which can make the reader pause. Aim for more precise topic vocabulary and check spelling and common word partnerships when revising.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some complex sentences, including “If any problems coming in their lives, they not only face problems, but also they learm problem solving skills,” and use a range of simple statements to present your points. However, many sentences contain errors in sentence structure, verb forms, articles and prepositions, which sometimes make the intended meaning difficult to follow. For example, “As there studying in abroad makes them better in academic performances” lacks a clear grammatical structure, while “there is one more disadvantage is stress” combines two sentence patterns incorrectly. The conclusion also has an incomplete opening clause: “although living in abroad expensive and stressfull.” Practise building accurate subject–verb sentences before adding subordinate clauses, and proofread each sentence for a complete main clause.

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.