Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-01

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)

Entire universitys should include a time period for lernrs to study abroad or doing job for experience. I believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, Because students learn practical skills and communicate with people from different cultural background also I think it provide long term benifits. Study abroad maybe financially challenging for some students and doing work in the middle of education can distract some students from studies. However, The advantage are far outweigh the disadvantages as it provide long term.

On one hand there are several drawbacks of studing abroad for a period of time or doing a job during studying undergraduate courses. Firstly studing abroad can be financially challenging for some families and they may not afford study expences,From my real life experience a couple of years ago a university in my hometown provide apportunity of studing abroad for several month to my elder brother study in sweden, but unfortunatly the expenses was too high and we cannot afford their, Visa and accomodation expenses. At that time my brother feel disappointed.

On the other hand the advantages far outweigh disadvantages because, Studying abroad give a chance to communicate with peoples from different social and cultural backgrounds which help us to learn their perspectives about education and sometimes we also learn different languages.While doing a work placement can provide practical skills that provide long term benifits and also give chance to get succesful job in the future.

Consiquantly, There may be some drawbacks of studing abroad during undergraduate courses and doing work placement but from my perspective the firks outweigh the drawbacks because it gives long term benifits.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and you address both sides of the question. The example about your brother’s opportunity to study in Sweden supports the financial disadvantage, while the points about cultural communication and practical skills explain potential benefits. However, the advantages are less fully developed than the disadvantage: explain more specifically how these experiences improve employment prospects or academic learning. The conclusion repeats that the benefits are greater but does not add a final reason. To strengthen the response, develop each main point with a clear explanation and a relevant example, and make the comparison between the two sides more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on disadvantages, a paragraph on advantages, and a conclusion. The signposts “On one hand” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the contrast, and the ideas generally appear in a sensible order. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “However, The advantage are far outweigh the disadvantages as it provide long term” is incomplete and repeats the position without clearly linking the ideas. The long sentence about your brother also combines several details without clear punctuation. Use clearer sentence boundaries and connect each example directly to the point it supports; vary linking expressions rather than relying mainly on contrast markers.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “financially challenging,” “cultural backgrounds,” “practical skills,” and “work placement.” These phrases communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and some word choices or forms are inaccurate, which can make parts of the response difficult to read. Examples include “study expences,” “peoples,” “successful job,” and “the firks outweigh the drawbacks”; the last phrase appears to be an incorrect word choice that obscures your meaning. Spelling errors such as “benifits,” “studing,” and “Consiquantly” are also noticeable. Build accuracy by checking spelling and choosing precise collocations, such as “gain practical experience” and “improve future employment prospects.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a sentence beginning “While doing a work placement…” and a longer example about your brother. However, control is inconsistent, particularly with subject–verb agreement, articles, and verb forms. For instance, “Studying abroad give a chance” should use a singular verb, and “it provide long term” also needs agreement and a complete construction. In the personal example, “a university … provide” and “my brother feel disappointed” do not maintain the appropriate tense. Some sentences are also joined or punctuated in ways that make their structure unclear. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and verb, consistent tense, and correct sentence boundaries.

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