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 ongoing debate that all university undergraduate courses should include a period of time where the students can have a chance to study at foreign country or get work experience during their study. In this essay I will disucss the advantages and disadavanatges before presenting my own opinion.

First and formest, Including a period of time that students get do some work and gain experience or doing study in abroad country have many advantages. If students can get a period of time during degree, they can do work in different organization and get expertise which helps them to achieve a reasonable job after degree. It make students skilfull and also a degree holder. Furthermore, spenting some time at any foreign country during degree help students to get exposure and interact with different type peolpe where they can learn about various ideas and different culture. For instance, in exchange programe the students come all over the world at the foreign country and they get opportunity to interact with individuals with different background. It boosts the students confidence and enhance their communciation.

On ther other hand, there are some drawbecks of these aspects. Firstly, doing work during study can demotivate students towards study. They can loose the interset in the studies and more keen to earn money. Secondly, moving abroad during studies can increase the chances of brain drain. It raise the chance that the student will not comeback to their home county and the investment on them could be lost.

In conclusion, Although there some drawbecks of these aspests, there many benefits for students. In my opinion, I think the advantages of this would outweigh the disadvantages. The experties and knowledge they gain from this is much benefical for their future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and state a clear view: the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant benefits include gaining work experience, learning about other cultures and improving confidence, while you also identify possible loss of study motivation and brain drain. The exchange-programme example supports the cultural point. However, some ideas are less fully developed than others: the claim that work experience helps students obtain a job is not explained with a specific example, and the brain-drain concern could be linked more clearly to why it is a disadvantage of making placements compulsory. Your conclusion restates your position, but could briefly weigh the benefits against these costs. The response meets the stated length requirement; 19 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “First and foremost,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” makes the direction of the argument easy to follow. This organisation is effective, and ideas generally progress in a logical order. To make the cohesion more flexible and precise, avoid relying so heavily on formulaic transitions and improve links between related points. For example, the sentence about exchange programmes could be connected more explicitly to the preceding point about cultural exposure. Some references, such as “these aspects” and “this,” are broad, so name the specific placement or benefit to make the connections clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “work experience,” “expertise,” “exposure,” “brain drain,” and “investment.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce accuracy and polish. Examples include “disucss,” “disadavanatges,” “drawbecks,” and “communciation”; these errors are especially conspicuous in an essay. Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “study at foreign country” and “get do some work.” Build a more accurate range of collocations for education and employment, and check spelling carefully. More precise wording would help distinguish professional skills, cultural awareness, and the possible costs of compulsory placements.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “If students can get a period of time during degree, they can…” and a contrast clause beginning “Although…”. The main meaning is usually understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “There is a ongoing debate” has an article error, “It make students” has subject–verb disagreement, and “there some drawbacks” omits a verb. There are also problems with verb forms and sentence construction, as in “students get do some work” and “spenting some time… help students.” Work on articles, agreement, and consistent verb patterns, then proofread each sentence. Greater control of these forms would make your argument smoother and more reliable.

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