Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-30

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 people think that pupils studying undergraduate courses in universities should include a period of time for doing work and study abroad. studying and working abroad have several benefits for student carrer but it also have some disadvantages aswell that we will discuss in this essay before giving my opinion on this topic.

On the one hand, the primary advantage of studying and working abroad is it provide real life working experience with diffrent people and they can apply this experience when they return to their universities. Which also offer them better job opportunities in future, employer prefer candidates with practical experience. and also help in personal development it help them to increase their english and effective communication skills.

Furthermore, on the other hand, there is some drawbacks attached with it. studying abroad involves alot of expenses such as accommodation, travel cost, and food, which could be sometime dufficult for foreign students to manage all expenses with studies.another factor is stress and homesickness some students feel lonely and stressed while staying away from their family in addition to that it can also delay academic studies.

In my perspective, stuying and working abroad have more benefits than drawacks. It provides several advantages that can help students in their future development and for better career aproach. for example, a students who work abroad can deal costumer better than the student who only studies customer service in universitiy, consequently, student with practical experience become more competent for job.

In contrast, stuying abroad provides inevatable experince which is essential for future development and confidence. students should try to face all the challenges that comes during working abroad with better managment.so they can get most of the benefit from this oppurnity.and become valuable asset for their country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and give a clear overall view: you believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Relevant advantages include practical experience, improved communication skills and better employment prospects; you also identify costs, homesickness and possible delays to study. The customer-service example helps illustrate why workplace experience may be useful. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained—for instance, the link between studying abroad and “better career aproach” is vague, and the disadvantages receive less development than the benefits. The final paragraph largely repeats your position instead of adding a distinct reason or example. Develop each main point with a clearer explanation of how it affects students, and keep the focus on the requirement that courses include a placement or study period abroad.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, discussion of benefits and drawbacks, and a concluding position. The reader can generally follow the progression from practical experience to costs and homesickness. However, linking is sometimes mechanical or confusing: “On the one hand” is followed by “Furthermore, on the other hand,” which mixes signals for contrasting points. The final two paragraphs both restate the advantages, so the conclusion feels repetitive rather than bringing the argument together. Some sentence boundaries also interrupt the flow, such as “Which also offer them better job opportunities” and “studies.another factor.” Use one clear topic sentence per paragraph, connect ideas with accurate referencing, and make the conclusion summarise the argument without introducing another loosely connected point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “practical experience,” “job opportunities,” “homesickness,” and “personal development.” These choices make your main ideas understandable. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems reduce precision: “career aproach,” “deal costumer,” “inevitable experience,” and “valuable asset for their country” do not express the intended ideas naturally. Spelling errors such as “diffrent,” “dufficult,” and “oppurnity” are also noticeable. Aim to learn common academic collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise phrases such as “career prospects,” “handle customers,” and “valuable opportunity” would help you express your points more naturally without changing your argument.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a reason clause in “which could be sometime difficult for foreign students to manage all expenses with studies.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in agreement, sentence construction, articles and punctuation occur across the response. For example, “it also have some disadvantages” should use a singular verb, while “the primary advantage … is it provide” needs a more accurate clause structure. “Which also offer them…” is a fragment, and several sentences run together after full stops, as in “studies.another factor.” These issues sometimes make relationships between ideas less clear. Practise checking each sentence for a complete subject and verb, consistent singular/plural forms, and appropriate punctuation, while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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