Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-29

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)

Some people argued that university should provide study abroad opporrtunity to learners or doing work placement for some time. In believe that the prons of the studing in different coutries or changing job in a short term outweigh the cons. A number of arguments surround my opinion.

There are many advantage of the given concept. First of all, it help a studentto relax their brain cells for a short time. This is because when a learner gets a opportunity to visit a new place it works like a therapy. Moreover sometimes students feel pressureized due to lot of academic pressure. Thats why when they move to abroad for some moment it helps them to refresh their mind. Although they are travelling they have to maintain their academic life as well. For instance, a people who follow a regular routine every time it makes them feel bored about life so it helps to reduce their boredness. on the other hand travelling to another country help to introduced new cultures and increase greater communication skill.

However, work placement is also a beneficial pathway for the undergraduates. It provides cnace to consume skills and experience. Due to the fact when a people change their job for a while they come to know different type of activity. Owing to this they gathered skills which brings chance to get a good job in future. Also working on various places they learn about peoples behaviour.

Admittedly, there are few disadvantages of moving to adroad or work placement. That are to adjusted different culture or language. For example many country has their own native language so when they need to communicate with the public they should to know their language which feels very hard.

To sum up , the disadvantages of study abroad or wrok palcement for some shile are negligible as compared to the advantages in my opinion.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall answer that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and you discuss both study abroad and work placement. Relevant benefits include exposure to new cultures, improved communication, and gaining experience that may help with future employment; you also identify language and cultural adjustment as drawbacks. However, the response only partly addresses the specific proposal that these experiences should be included in all undergraduate courses. Several points are unclear or insufficiently explained, particularly the claim that travel helps students “relax their brain cells” and the example about routine and boredom. Develop the strongest ideas with a direct explanation of how a required placement benefits students, and support the comparison with a more specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs on benefits and disadvantages, and a concluding position. Transitions such as “First of all,” “Moreover,” “However,” and “To sum up” help signal the stages of the argument. This gives the essay an overall coherent arrangement. At times, however, links between ideas are mechanical or unclear. For example, the discussion moves from academic pressure to travel, then to maintaining academic life and routine, without showing precisely how these points connect. “On the other hand” introduces another benefit rather than a contrast. Use linking phrases according to their meaning, and organise each body paragraph around one main point, followed by explanation and a relevant example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “work placement,” “academic pressure,” “communication skill,” and “native language.” These choices allow the reader to follow the general argument. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate word choices or collocations make parts difficult to understand, such as “relax their brain cells,” “consume skills,” and “changing job in a short term.” Spelling errors, including “opporrtunity,” “cnace,” and “adroad,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for natural topic-specific phrases and check word forms and spelling carefully. For instance, describe students as gaining practical skills and adapting to a different culture, rather than using literal or imprecise expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “because,” “when,” and “although.” This shows an effort to explain causes and add detail. However, control is inconsistent, and errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles, and verb forms sometimes make the meaning harder to follow. Examples include “it help a studentto relax,” “a people who follow,” and “they should to know their language.” Some sentences also combine ideas without a clear grammatical connection, as in “Due to the fact when a people change their job.” Practise building accurate subject–verb patterns and use one clear clause structure at a time. Check articles and plural forms, and punctuate sentence openings consistently.

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