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)

All university undergraduate programs should include a period of time spent studying time overseas or doing a job placement/internship. From my perspective, there are several benefits for students who are studying in a university they provide a internship or a work placement in a company, and also provide a time period for doing courses abroad.

In my opinion, the university which include a duration in undergraduates programs for the work placement or offer courses to study in abroad for a particular time, it support many students to doing a job or internship in their studying time, before the completing the graduation they will get enough knowledge to work in a company. it has several advantages which can help the students to provide industrial level experience because many students have passed through the theoretical stage, so they have a chance to learn about how to survive in a company.

Furthermore, many students wants to do courses in abroad to obtain high skills so that if university support them or provide the scholarships to students. It helps the students to build their skills that would be helpful for them in future.

However, there is a significant number of drawbacks one of the major is that if university who don't provide the all expense of doing courses, many students can't afford the expenses of living abroad such as travelling, food, and courses fee.

In conclusion, university that the include time for undergraduates to support the student in a work placement and offer courses at abroad this will beneficial for students in terms of experience, knowledge, and stipends. Many companies prefer those students who have at least experience of internship.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both options in the prompt—study abroad and work placement—and your position is broadly positive, especially in the conclusion, where you highlight experience and knowledge. The discussion of placements is relevant: you explain that students can gain practical experience before graduating. However, the advantages are not weighed clearly against the disadvantages, so the answer to whether benefits outweigh drawbacks remains implicit rather than firmly argued. The study-abroad benefit is also only briefly explained, and the cost concern is introduced without considering how serious it is compared with the benefits. To strengthen the response, state your judgement directly in the introduction and develop each main point with a specific example or explanation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has an overall structure, with an introduction, discussion of benefits, a drawback, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “However,” and “In conclusion” help signal the direction of the argument. The main progression is understandable, but some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, the opening benefit paragraph combines the placement idea with several explanations in one long sentence, while the study-abroad point and the cost drawback are crowded together in the next paragraph. The conclusion repeats the main benefits but does not clearly resolve the comparison. Use separate, focused paragraphs for each main idea, and make the relationship between the cost drawback and your overall position explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “work placement,” “industrial level experience,” “scholarships,” and “living abroad,” so the reader can follow the main ideas. There is some attempt to use more specific language, but the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, such as “courses in abroad,” “courses fee,” and “support the student in a work placement.” Repetition of “students,” “university,” and “experience” also limits flexibility. Aim to use more precise academic phrases and vary repeated terms—for example, refer to “undergraduates,” “institutions,” or “practical experience” where appropriate. Check collocations carefully so that your vocabulary communicates ideas naturally and accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning with “so that” and “because,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction occur throughout and sometimes make the reader work to understand the meaning. For instance, “the university which include” needs a singular verb, and “it support many students to doing” has problems with both the verb form and the following structure. The sentence beginning “In my opinion, the university…” is also difficult to follow because its clauses are not clearly connected. Practise building accurate subject–verb–object sentences first, then add subordinate clauses. Check articles and agreement during editing, and use full stops to separate ideas when a sentence becomes difficult to control.

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