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)

It is often argued that encouraging students to do workplacement as a part of their degree will have more outcomes in the shape of better communication and professional skills .But it also has some drawbacks, failing to get a job placement.In my opinion, the advantages outweight the disadvantages.

On the one hand, including a work placement period will enable the students to apply their findings in the real world scenarios. By practicing this the students can nourish and polish their knowledge and would be able to excel in their respective field. The undergraduaties will be ready for the job market after.Or if they intend to study abroad they can experience different cultures and work with people all over the world after that they can bring the useful ideas to their country and can help in its developing

On the other hand, it can be reason of strees among students whether they would be able to secure a position or not or and a number of students who can perform better by studying abraod can not afford the expenses for their studies. They can also feel homesick.

Therefore, I think that the goverment should provide these types of candidates with allownces and scholarships and universities can offer them local placements.

In conclusion, despite of the cost, the long-term benefits for student s and employers are greater.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear position in the introduction—“the advantages outweight the disadvantages”—and return to it in the conclusion. You also address both sides, mentioning practical experience and cultural exposure as benefits, and placement competition, cost and homesickness as drawbacks. However, several points are only briefly stated: for example, you do not explain how work experience improves employment prospects, and the point about bringing ideas back to one’s country is not developed. The response is also 25 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to support your claims. To strengthen the response, explain each main idea with a specific example and make the comparison between the benefits and costs more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs presenting opposing views, a recommendation, and a conclusion. “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. However, progression within the body paragraphs is less controlled. The first body paragraph moves from applying knowledge to job readiness and then to studying abroad and national development without clearly connecting these points. The sentence beginning “Or if they intend to study abroad” is difficult to follow, and the recommendation about scholarships and local placements appears as a separate paragraph without a clear link to the preceding disadvantages. Group related ideas and use clearer links between claims and explanations.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “professional skills,” “real world scenarios,” “job market,” “placements,” and “scholarships,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “nourish and polish their knowledge.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “more outcomes in the shape of,” “secure a position,” and “help in its developing.” Spelling errors such as “outweight,” “strees,” “abraod,” and “goverment” are noticeable and reduce the accuracy of the writing. Aim for precise, natural expressions and check spelling carefully; for instance, explain that placements can “strengthen practical skills” rather than using an unclear phrase.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional idea in “whether they would be able to secure a position” and a relative clause in “students who can perform better.” However, control is uneven, and some sentence boundaries and structures make the meaning harder to follow. For example, “The undergraduaties will be ready for the job market after.Or if they intend…” contains an incomplete, poorly punctuated transition, while “it can be reason of strees among students whether…” has an unclear grammatical pattern. The final sentence also needs a clearer construction: “despite of the cost” is not grammatically formed. Practise joining clauses with accurate punctuation and checking articles, prepositions and sentence completeness.

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