Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-26

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)

Nowadays,many people believe that university students should spend some time study abroad or gaining work experience during their undergraduate courses Although this may create some financial and personal difficulties, I belive that the advantages ouweigth the disadvantages.

On the one hand, one of the main benifits of this approach is that the student can gain pracitical experience before entering the job market. By working in a company student learn several things. One of most important student learn communication skills. For instance, if student practice in a company during their study time so the studen gain lot experience how to deal with customer and solve the customer problem. Furthermore, studying abraod allows to students to experience differnts cultures and improve their language skills.

On the other hand, there are some disadvantages to considers. the main problem is that studying abraod is more expansive because student pay for accomodation and transportation or their living expanse. in addition, some students may feel homesick because they fell to live farway from home. However,universities could reducethese problems by providings financail supports and offering in placements in students home countries.

In conculsion, although studying abroad or completing a work placemnets may involves financial costs and personals challanges. I believe that the benifits are more greaters because peactical experienced improved communication skills better opportunites.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear opinion that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and you address both benefits and drawbacks. The points about gaining workplace experience, improving communication, encountering other cultures, and facing costs or homesickness are relevant. However, several ideas remain under-developed: the example about dealing with customers is brief, and the conclusion lists benefits without explaining how they outweigh the costs. The response also does not meet the required minimum of 250 words, which limits the space available to develop and support your position. To strengthen the response, explain the effects of each main point and add a specific example showing why the long-term benefits are more significant than the disadvantages.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “Furthermore,” and “In conclusion” helps the reader follow the main direction. This clear paragraph structure is a strength. However, some connections are mechanical, and the ideas within paragraphs are not always developed in a smooth sequence. For example, the shift from workplace experience to communication skills is abrupt, while the final sentence compresses several benefits into an unclear list. Develop each paragraph around one central point, use clearer links between explanation and example, and make sure the conclusion synthesises the argument rather than introducing a fragmentary summary.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “work experience,” “job market,” “communication skills,” “cultures,” and “homesick.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “financial support” and “living expenses.” However, the range is limited, and frequent spelling errors and inaccurate word choices make the writing less clear and less controlled. Examples include “ouweigth,” “expansive” where you mean costly, and “practical experienced.” Some phrases are also awkward, such as “gain lot experience” and “deal with customer.” Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations as complete phrases. More precise vocabulary for describing career development and the costs of overseas study would help you express the argument more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession in the introduction and a sentence beginning “although” in the conclusion. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently in basic sentence construction, agreement, articles, and verb forms. For example, “the student can gain” shifts to “student learn,” while “studying abroad allows to students” uses an incorrect pattern. The opening sentence also lacks clear punctuation before “Although,” and the concluding “although” clause is left without a complete main clause. These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, article use, and complete sentence boundaries before adding more complex structures.

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