Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-03
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)
I Agree on the above statement that is Undergraduate courses should atart include their time in studying abroad while the academic Sessions are going on so that, the students don't have to make different time for the work placement or studying abroad.
While the course is going on all the university start their student exchange program for the undergraduate courses as the students who had passed higher school are probably not having the work experience, so for them studying abroad or work placements are a better and reliable option to develop their working skills as well as for upgrading their selves also.Some of the advantages of the suggested statement are that the students will go abroad and face new challenges but it will definitely help them for sharpen their problem solving skills.Now, you may doubt for the study break if they move abroad,right? But here is the plot twist that the students will not stop their studies at any cost they parallely studying also with work placements.
As i Said, the advantages of the work placements and studying abroad for undergraduates courses, there are some disadvantages also. There is always two sides of a coin. Now,let's talk about the disadvantages for the students or universities. Universities may faces the financial challenges because for the undergraduates students the cost of moving abroad for student exchange programme should be handled by the university. For the students,they might faces unfriendly environment in the different country.
But apart from the few disadvantages this will benefit a lot to the students for developing self and university also to make reputation in the education market.In the conclusion, the pros of the studying abroad for undergraduate courses are more than the cons of that.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You take a clear position in favour of including overseas study or work placements, and you address both advantages and disadvantages. Relevant benefits include developing problem-solving and work skills, while you also identify university costs and the possibility of an unfriendly environment. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the benefits are asserted rather than illustrated with a specific example, and the financial and social disadvantages receive little explanation. The claim that students can study “parallely” during placements is also unclear and does not fully explain how the proposal would work. To strengthen the response, explain how these experiences improve students’ future prospects and weigh those gains directly against the costs and adjustment difficulties.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a discussion of benefits, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion that restates your view. This makes the main line of argument easy to identify. You also use linking expressions such as “As I said,” “But apart from,” and “In the conclusion.” However, some transitions feel conversational or mechanical, and the progression within paragraphs is not always smooth. For example, the question “Now, you may doubt for the study break…” interrupts the explanation, while “As I said” refers back without clearly introducing the next point. Use more direct topic sentences and connect each supporting explanation explicitly to your position; clearer paragraph development would make the argument flow more naturally.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “student exchange program,” “work placements,” “problem solving skills,” and “financial challenges.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the response shows an attempt to use phrases beyond very basic vocabulary. However, several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “upgrading their selves,” “make reputation,” and “reliable option,” which make parts of the argument less clear. There are also spelling and word-form errors, including “atart” and “parallely.” Aim for more precise academic collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully. For instance, describe students as developing their skills or gaining experience, and explain that universities can build a strong reputation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses with “while,” “because,” and “so that.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the overall meaning can generally be followed. However, complex sentences are often not controlled accurately, and errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “all the university start,” “There is always two sides,” and “they parallely studying also.” The opening sentence is also difficult to follow because several ideas are joined without a clear grammatical structure. Practise building shorter, accurate sentences first, then combine them using subordinate clauses. Check subject–verb agreement and ensure each sentence has a complete, correctly formed verb.
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