Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-04

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 5.0)

The people agrue that undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing work placement. I strongly believe that this has some merits aswell as drawbacks. The students are exposed to different cultures and traditions whereas few students can not afford abroad education.

One of the biggest benefits of studying abroad is they have numerous opportunities compared to home country. It will helps students to find their dream job easly. Few students to adopt to different climates and weather. Doing hardwork they will get good opportunities in terms of job. For instance, students will gain practical experience to relative field they have studied in undergraduation. Which will helps them to get a good package after doing a semester in foreign country. They will also learn how to manage finance and handling the situation.

On the other hand, few students can not afford because it is quite expensive. The students who are below middle class are intened to work after graduation rathing going for other courses. Some students often get homesickness do to staying awaying from home. For example, these students might fell depressed and lonely. Moreover, students ended up wasting lakhs of money and time results in waste.

In conclusion, this trend has few positives and negatives whereas it differs for person to person. Some students might use this chance and grow in life while others will enjoy instead of studying. They will forget the reason behind it. For few people it will take time to adopt for their culture and traditions

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You address both benefits and drawbacks, including career experience, cultural exposure, cost and homesickness, and you give a clear preference for the idea in the opening. However, the conclusion retreats to “it differs from person to person” rather than answering directly whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Several points are asserted but not explained: for example, the link between studying abroad and getting a “good package” is unclear, and the claim that students may “enjoy instead of studying” is not supported. The response is also below the required 250 words: it contains 243 words, with 13 words copied from the prompt excluded. Develop fewer points with clearer explanations and examples, then state your overall judgement consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for benefits and drawbacks, and a conclusion. This helps the reader identify the main sections, and transitions such as “On the other hand” and “In conclusion” are relevant. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven. The benefits paragraph moves from job opportunities to adapting to climates, hard work, practical experience and financial management without clearly showing how these ideas connect. Some references are also unclear, such as “Which will helps them,” while the final paragraph repeats the contrast between students who benefit and those who do not without resolving the argument. Use topic sentences and arrange each paragraph around one main point, with explanation and an example before moving on.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “practical experience,” “different cultures and traditions,” “homesickness,” and “depressed and lonely.” These choices communicate the general subject and show an attempt to discuss both academic and personal effects. However, the range is limited and several spelling, word-form and collocation errors make the writing less precise, such as “agrue,” “easly,” “intened,” and “wasting lakhs of money and time results in waste.” Some expressions are vague or unnatural, including “good package” and “adopt to different climates.” Build a more accurate set of phrases for costs, employment prospects and adjustment to a new environment, and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “whereas” and examples introduced by “For instance.” However, complex attempts are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. Examples include “It will helps students,” “Which will helps them,” and “Some students often get homesickness do to staying awaying from home.” There are also problems with sentence boundaries and clause structure, as in “Doing hardwork they will get good opportunities” and “Moreover, students ended up wasting lakhs of money and time results in waste.” Practise forming complete clauses, matching subjects and verbs, and using consistent verb forms. Aim for accurate simple sentences before adding subordinate clauses.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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