Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-31

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)

The statement stated that all higher institutes undergraduate courses should have included a time schedule for studying abroad or doing a practical work placement.In my opinion the advantages of this decision would definetly surpass the disadvantages.

First of all the studying abroad knowledge should be very important for young students to become aware about the career opportunities and possibilties right after the studies .Because with this students do not have to take stress if they initially face difficulties after graduation to land a suitable job.And it is alos beneficial for students from lower middle class economies to get opportunity to study in top notch devolped institutes abroad. Because they already have complete information about the application process and how there documents prepared to get a job or secure position in foreign institues.

Morever, it also saves childerns from spending a lot of money to study consultants and fake advisors by falsely misguiding the students and capture there money.On the other hand its also very beneficial for poor countries it helps to grow there economy if the more people got foreign education and got scholarships they improve there reputation on the international scale.

On the other hand teaching actual work to individuals during there studies also proved to be very positive impact on the student lives.They have all the practical necessary skills which the employer demands in this modern era .This could be very helpful to land a job in the market right after graduation .

Also in this way more skillful and productive workers joined the workforce and the companies will have got more benefits from them.

To conclude this essay , In my opinion the benefits of this approach would definetly overweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction and conclusion: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. You address both study abroad and work placements, with relevant points about career awareness, practical skills and employment prospects. However, some ideas are more fully explained than others. For example, the link between overseas study and avoiding stress after graduation is asserted rather than demonstrated, and the claim that foreign education improves a poor country’s reputation needs a clearer explanation or example. The discussion also gives little attention to disadvantages, despite the question asking for a comparison. Develop the reasoning behind each main point and briefly acknowledge a realistic drawback before explaining why the benefits remain greater.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has an overall structure, moving from an introduction to supporting paragraphs and a conclusion, and the reader can follow the main argument. You use signposts such as “First of all,” “Moreover” and “To conclude.” However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or confusing: “On the other hand” introduces another benefit in both places, rather than a contrast, and the paragraph beginning “Morever” combines several separate claims without a clear progression. Some references, such as “this” and “they,” do not make the intended idea or group fully clear. Organise each body paragraph around one central reason, use contrast markers only when contrasting ideas, and make pronoun references explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of vocabulary relevant to education and employment, including “career opportunities,” “practical skills,” “scholarships” and “workforce.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, but several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “studying abroad knowledge,” “capture their money” and “actual work.” Spelling errors—including “definetly,” “possibilties” and “devolped”—also reduce the accuracy of the vocabulary. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding your main points, but they make the writing less precise. Aim for natural collocations and check spelling carefully; for instance, describe gaining international experience, being misled by advisers, and developing practical workplace skills.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional structure in “if they initially face difficulties after graduation.” However, some sentence patterns are faulty or incomplete, and errors in verb forms, articles, agreement and punctuation recur. For example, “the studying abroad knowledge should be very important” has an unclear grammatical structure, while “if the more people got foreign education” does not form a correct conditional clause. Several sentences also run together, as in the section about consultants and advisers. These problems sometimes make relationships between ideas harder to follow. Practise building complete clauses, checking subject–verb agreement and verb forms, and separating sentences with appropriate punctuation.

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