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)

All the universities who offer undergraduate, shouls include a period of their courses spent study in other countries or work exchane. I strongly believe that, the advantages of this step would outweight the disadvantages.

First of all, if we talk about advantages; there are lots of advantages to study abroad. Student can gain valuable knowlede from foreign universities. Additionally they can explore different culture, new environment, new tradition and new thecnique from foreign universities. Having classmates from different countries, they can enhance their communication and interpersonal skills. Studying in other countries can creat an extensive experience, which helps to facilitate their future ambition. Concequently, doing a work placement in abroad can enhance their corporate knowlwde. They can kow different countries corporate ethicks, techniques, morality and administrative prespective. one good example can be, if a student completes their internship on abroad they can gain extra knowledge from those who done their internship in home country.they can gain international knowledge and working methods and can later use these techique to develop their own countries industry. For the students, it would be a great opportunity for them to gain knowlede from other countries. As a result it would upgrade their motivation to study.

On the other hand, there are some disadvantages they may be shy or not understanding the lessons of foreign faculties. Additionally they might get frustrated and that can hamper ther study which results in bad career. Also i would mention that course exchange programme and internship in foreign countries associates with higher cost which can be very unpleased for some of the student.

In conclution, Desprite having some disadvantages, i personally think the advantages outweight the disadvantages. All universities should start these kind of approach.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the opening: you strongly support including overseas study or work placements, and you maintain this view in the conclusion. You address both benefits and drawbacks, with relevant points about cultural learning, communication skills, career preparation, possible difficulty following lessons, and cost. The example of an internship abroad adds some support, but it largely repeats the point about gaining international knowledge rather than illustrating a specific outcome. Some ideas, such as how placements develop professional skills, are relevant but remain broad or unclear. To strengthen the response, explain the effects of each main point more fully and compare the scale of the benefits with the costs and adjustment difficulties.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “First of all,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the main stages. However, the advantages paragraph is crowded with several points, and the example is not clearly separated from the explanation, so the progression sometimes feels list-like. Some links are mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “Additionally” and “As a result.” References such as “these technique” and “this step” are not always clear. Group related benefits into a more focused sequence and use precise references and varied transitions to make the connections between claims explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “interpersonal skills,” “work placement,” “corporate,” and “international knowledge,” which helps convey the main ideas. However, the range is limited by repeated general terms such as “gain,” “knowledge,” and “countries,” while several inaccurate word choices or collocations make parts difficult to interpret. Examples include “work exchane,” “corporate ethicks,” “unpleased,” and “techique”; spelling errors are also noticeable. Some phrases, such as “new thecnique from foreign universities,” do not express the intended idea naturally. Build accuracy by checking spelling and learning common combinations, such as “gain experience,” “adapt to a new culture,” and “incur additional costs.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple statements and some attempts at complex sentences, for example, “Having classmates from different countries, they can enhance their communication and interpersonal skills” and “Studying in other countries can create an extensive experience, which helps…” This shows an effort to vary sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. Agreement and articles are problematic in “Student can gain” and “one of the student,” while sentence boundaries and capitalization are also uneven, as in “home country.they” and “one good example.” Some clauses are awkwardly constructed, including “there are some disadvantages they may be shy.” Aim for complete, clearly joined clauses, consistent capitalization and punctuation, and accurate subject–verb agreement; these changes would make your meaning easier to follow.

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