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)

It is argued that bachelor graduates should spend some time abroad to learn more knowledge or doing internships after completing studies. Although spending some time in international universities can have major benefits in achieving a person successful career. Although it can have drawbacks but i think the advantages would outweigh the disadvantages.

There are many benefits of studying abroad after graduation. Initially, a person may gain knwoledge from international teachers, because they are more subject oriented and well specialised in their field which can contribute to a person a profeesional career. For example, in abroad universitie there are more specialised staff as compare to pakistan, because international universities select specialised teacher from all over the globe. Furthermore, experience is required to start a professional career, for that doing ineternship will more helpfull in securing better job. For example, a company will hire a more experience employ then a person who is graduated currently.

On the other hand, spending sometime abroad or doing work placement can have major drawbacks. Firstly, it require financial stability to study abroad and many young people often do not have sufficient funding to support themselves. As e result they often work saveral hours and doing extra shifts to support themselves, which can be consider as an obstacle while continuing study abroad. Furthermore, a person doing job after graduation may suffer alot because the company will pay less wage as compared to one who is more educated then him. For example, company's often treat fresh graduate as interni and pay him less, because they are inexperienced and less educated then other employes.

In conclusion, spending some time abroad requires financial stability and and company will pay them less wage, but i think the advantages outweighs the disadvantages. for successful future, spending somtime in international universities can help him in gaining more experience and knowledge which can be more beneficail in long terms.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall view that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and you discuss benefits and drawbacks with relevant examples, such as gaining specialist knowledge and the financial pressure of studying abroad. However, the response does not fully address the proposal: the task says every undergraduate course should include a period abroad or a work placement, whereas your opening shifts this to graduates going abroad after completing their studies. This makes the central idea less precise. Some points are also under-developed; for instance, the claim that international teachers contribute to a successful career is not explained in detail, and the comparison with Pakistan is broad. Keep the focus on a required course component and explain more specifically how its benefits compare with its costs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. The overall arrangement is coherent, but progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and some connections are unclear. For example, the point about graduates being paid less is not clearly linked to the disadvantage of a placement during an undergraduate course. The repeated use of “For example” also makes the development feel formulaic. Use clearer topic sentences that directly relate each paragraph to the question, and make the relationship between each example and its main claim explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “international universities,” “professional career,” “financial stability,” and “work placement.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling, word-form, and collocation errors reduce precision: “knwoledge,” “profeesional,” “internship,” and “more experience employ” are examples. Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “gain knowledge from international teachers” and “pay less wage.” These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding the general argument, but they make it less fluent and occasionally require interpretation. Build a more accurate set of phrases for education and employment, and check spelling and word forms carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because” and “which,” and the main meaning is generally understandable. However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction. For example, “Although spending some time … can have major benefits” is left as an incomplete sentence, while “the advantages outweighs” has incorrect subject–verb agreement. In “it require financial stability,” the verb form is also incorrect. Punctuation and capitalisation need attention, particularly the lowercase “i” and the comma splice in the opening. Practise building complete sentences with one clear main clause, then check agreement and verb forms.

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