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)

Many people believe that all educational institutes should introduce different type of courses to the undergraduate such as time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement. In my opinion this give the student different explosure of work and also help them in built their carrer strong.

On the one hand, this play a signficant role into the students lives. As academy or colloge should tie-up with the companies near the areas, so that after completing there semeters or colloges student should join these firms and which help them to gain experince in there own field also which make the bridge the gap between education and employment. Another reason the student should move to abroad for education its help them to explore new culture with new people, they can also understand new language and also build a skill of time managment and know how to save and invest money.

On the other hand, this have disadvantages. studing abroad carry the finicial burden to the students and families. It also hard for student to adjust themselves in new environment. Also they face difficulties in work study balance.

In conclusion, In my opinion this have more advantages than disadvantages, as the student who study abroad open too much gates for there carrier, also help them to make a responsible person. So, the university should funds a sholorships for students according to profile, also better or good accommodation for students so that they focus on there studies pressure free, also they can tie-up with global companies so that students do intership there and gain new knowledge or develop new skills in them also give them certificate of participants which help them in futhure for job huting.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and state a clear view: the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Relevant advantages include gaining work experience, connecting education with employment, and learning about other cultures; you also recognise financial pressure and adjustment difficulties. The conclusion offers practical suggestions, such as scholarships and company partnerships. However, some points are asserted rather than explained: for example, you say studying abroad opens “too much gates” for a career without giving a specific illustration of how this happens. The work-placement and study-abroad options could also be compared more directly, and the disadvantages receive less development than the advantages. The response meets the stated length requirement; nine words copied from the task prompt were excluded from the count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. The contrast signposts “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the main direction. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to track because several ideas are joined into long, loosely connected sentences. For instance, the sentence beginning “As academy or colloge should tie-up” moves from university partnerships to student placements and then to employment outcomes without clear sentence boundaries. Some linking words, including repeated “also,” make the connections feel mechanical. To improve, organise each paragraph around one main point, explain it in a separate sentence, and use clear references to show how each idea relates to the previous one.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “work placement,” “financial burden,” “new culture,” and “employment,” and the reader can generally identify your intended meaning. However, the range is limited and several spelling, word-form, and collocation errors make the writing less precise, such as “explosure,” “carrer,” “time managment,” and “job huting.” Phrases such as “open too much gates” and “make the bridge the gap” are not natural English collocations. These issues sometimes slow the reader, even though the main ideas remain understandable. Build a bank of accurate topic phrases and check spelling and word combinations carefully; using fewer, more precise expressions will be more effective than repeating general words such as “new” and “help.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “so that” and “which,” and your overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in longer sentences. Examples include “this give the student,” where subject–verb agreement is incorrect, and “this have disadvantages,” which has the same issue. In “It also hard for student to adjust,” the sentence is missing a verb, while “the student should move to abroad … its help them” combines clauses without a clear grammatical connection. Articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries also need attention. Practise building accurate short sentences first, then combine them using one clear subordinate clause at a time. This will let you show range without losing control.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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