Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-05

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 students should pursue studying abroad or work placement. Studying abroad is a great notion for the person who wants to build a better career. On the other hand, work placement should acquire if the student wants to seek financial stability and experience. I believe work placement take great advantage for the students in the undergraduate courses after graduation.

Working abroad is a great opportunity for the students to received a better job roles in the future. Those people who acquired certificate abroad received a good salary and landed in one of the top company in their country. Mostly, students who have incredibly smart and living in abundance are the one who afford to enhance their skills and knowledge abroad. In my point of view, the well- known families such as politicians, actress, businessman are able to send their children in the prestigious university abroad. Those students will be able to associate themselves in the updated lectures, modern teachings, wide information that is provided by the great lecturers. They will have a good background which help to easily catch a good position in the society. However, not all in the society are acquired to study abroad because of less proper support and financial means.

On contrast, applying for a job will help the person to immediately enhance their skills, experience, and knowledge in their chosen career. They will able to develop their skills such as become a good employee, early management of different tasks, building a good communication to co-workers. Young workers who able to manage the different roles and responsibilities can enhance their skills and improve a better a job opportunities in the future. Moreover, they can upgrade their qualifications once they are settled in their financial status. Also, there are a lot of good university in the Philippines that offers a quality education that are recognized internationaly.

Therefore, education is not based on studying in local or international. If the persons are motivated to develop and enhance their skills the opportunities are everywhere.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both studying abroad and work placement, and your view is that work placement offers a particularly strong benefit through practical experience and improved job prospects. The examples about developing communication and managing responsibilities are relevant. However, the response does not consistently answer the comparison in the question: it does not clearly weigh the overall advantages against the disadvantages. The discussion of studying abroad focuses mainly on wealthy families and access, while the disadvantage is only briefly mentioned as limited financial support. Your final point that opportunities exist locally is relevant but does not clearly state whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Develop both sides and make your judgement explicit throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs on studying abroad and work placement, and a concluding paragraph. This helps the reader identify the main topics. However, progression between ideas is sometimes unclear: the paragraph about studying abroad moves from job prospects to wealthy families and then to social position without explaining the links. Connectors such as “On the other hand,” “On contrast,” and “Therefore” signal relationships, but some are inaccurate or do not express the relationship clearly. The conclusion also introduces the idea that education is not based on location without directly resolving the comparison. Use clearer topic sentences and link each example back to your central judgement.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “financial stability,” “qualifications,” “responsibilities,” and “communication.” These choices show an attempt to discuss education and employment beyond very basic terms. However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “good,” “skills,” and “students,” and several word combinations are unnatural or unclear, including “work placement should acquire,” “received a better job roles,” and “enhance a better a job opportunities.” There are also spelling and form errors, such as “internationaly.” Aim for more precise collocations and check word forms; this will make your ideas easier to understand and give you greater flexibility in discussing benefits and drawbacks.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including relative clauses such as “Those people who acquired certificate abroad…” and conditional phrasing such as “If the persons are motivated…”. However, errors occur frequently and sometimes make the intended meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “work placement should acquire,” “I believe work placement take,” “students to received,” and “They will able to develop,” where verb forms or sentence patterns are faulty. Agreement and articles also need attention, as in “one of the top company” and “the opportunities are everywhere” after a singular subject. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, infinitive forms, and article use before adding more complex structures.

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