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)

There is a thing known as the unfolding career pathway before you get the bachelors degree instead of after graduation. There should be a period of time to explore the subject matters for each or major courses of undergraduate degree at university for studying abroad or doing work at placement. There are some reasons to agree to this statement which are as follow.

The impact of taking the mentorship or studying at abroad for the courses is highly regarded by the students who have got the opportunity to learn. There are some students in my contact who went on the exchange program at university and they always regard this inclusion as it provided them the channel to learn the advanced knowledge related to their subject and the enabled them to network with the students and teachers of the other country university. This not only helped them to determine their neiich but also the expsoure to the world of academics and networking became helpful to them for future perspectives.

For the students who thrive to get into the corporate sector or to learn the hands on experience with the field of their work which usually known as internships, work placement opens the door for them. Since, I belongs to the engineering field and get the field work experience is always a neccessity of getting into corporate sector. The internships/work related to courses of undergraduate enables the students to learn the new practical skills, moreover can relate the theoretical knowledge with practical skills at the work placement.

There are some people with classical mindset often supress the call for the studying part of undergraduate courses abroad or doing work along with studying courses, by propagating the effect of studying being lessend. But this might have the issue with students 3 or 4 decades back, now students are much aware and are capable of doing multitasking and can easily adept the situation. Nevertheless, these people are also understanding the need for this because those who stick with old analogy nowadays seems to be left behined.

Now to conclude the description of the reasons why the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, that spending time studying in other country's university or working at work placement alongside the courese are actually helpful in exposure to the field work, new learnings and networking. The important impact of this leads to the future career.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you support including overseas study or work placements, and you explain relevant benefits such as subject knowledge, international networking, practical skills, and career preparation. These points address the question, and the engineering example gives the work-placement argument a personal connection. However, the response develops the advantages much more fully than the disadvantages. The paragraph about people with a “classical mindset” mentions concerns about reduced study time, but does not explain when this might be a genuine drawback or weigh it against the benefits. Some claims, such as students being able to multitask, also need clearer support. To strengthen the response, discuss at least one concrete disadvantage and explain why the advantages still outweigh it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs on overseas study and work placements, a paragraph addressing opposition, and a conclusion. This makes the main line of argument understandable. You also use linking expressions such as “This not only,” “Since,” and “Nevertheless” to connect ideas. At times, however, the progression is mechanical or unclear. For example, “There are some reasons to agree to this statement which are as follow” announces a list, but the essay does not clearly organise the reasons as a sequence. The final paragraph repeats earlier benefits rather than synthesising the comparison. Use clearer topic sentences and make references explicit, especially in the paragraph beginning “There are some people,” so readers can follow the opposing view and your response to it.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt vocabulary suited to the topic, including “exchange program,” “advanced knowledge,” “network,” “corporate sector,” and “theoretical knowledge.” These choices help communicate the academic and employment-related benefits. However, a number of inaccurate word choices, collocations, and spelling errors reduce precision: “unfolding career pathway,” “determine their neiich,” “expsoure,” “thrive to get into,” and “left behined” are unclear or inappropriate in context. Phrases such as “work at placement” and “future perspectives” also sound unnatural. Aim for accurate, conventional collocations rather than ambitious but uncertain phrasing. For instance, “gain practical experience” and “build professional networks” express your ideas more naturally and precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “Since” and “who,” and the overall meaning is generally recoverable. However, errors in sentence structure, verb forms, agreement, articles, and punctuation are frequent enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “Since, I belongs to the engineering field and get the field work experience is always a neccessity” has problems with the clause structure and subject–verb agreement. In “the internships/work related to courses … enables,” the subject and verb do not agree, while “which usually known as internships” is missing a verb. Practise building complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and articles. Breaking long sentences into shorter units would also improve control.

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