Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-21

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Nowadays many large international companies offer their staff the opportunity to spend a period of time living and working in another country.

Why might this opportunity be good for employees?

What advantages does this development have for companies?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Nowadays it is often considered that many large international companies offer the opportunity to their employees to spend a period of time living and working in a different country. Throughout this essay, I will discuss how this opportunity is beneficial for staff and what advantages it provides for companies.

From my perspective, this offer provides a lot of benefits for staff members. The main significant reason is that the working professionals can explore new techniques under the guidance of foreign staff. As a result, it directly helps them to perform well in the future. For example, employees get a chance to learn an innovative trick or strategy in another country, which broadens their horizons. Then they will use it for the lifetime. Additionally, it enhances the confidence level of many individuals, since they can meet new people or they can get a chance to explore a new country.

In my view, one of the main advantages for the companies is that when their employees return from a foreign country, they share their experience and learning with their colleagues. They provide training to all staff members, which also has an effect on the working of other employees. When all members work in an appropriate manner according to the newly learned skills, it directly gives benefits to the company. Another contributing factor is that the foreigner returned employee represents its company at another level.

To sum up, working abroad helps individuals to learn new skills and it also provides several benefits for companies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both why the opportunity is good for employees and what advantages it brings to companies. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. The ideas are relevant, such as learning new techniques and sharing knowledge upon return, though some points tend to be a bit repetitive or lack deeper elaboration. For instance, the discussion on employees sharing experience with colleagues is somewhat general. However, the task is adequately fulfilled and meets the requirements of the prompt well, aligning closely with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas. It is divided into an introduction, two body paragraphs focusing on each part of the prompt, and a brief conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'From my perspective', 'As a result', and 'Additionally'. However, some cohesive links feel a bit mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'represents its company at another level'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, but overall cohesion sits firmly within the Band 6 territory.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'innovative trick', 'broadens their horizons', and 'contributing factor'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'the foreigner returned employee' instead of 'returning employees' or 'expatriate staff'. Spelling and word-choice errors do not impede communication, placing the response securely at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like relative clauses ('which broadens their horizons') and conditional-like phrasing ('when their employees return'). There are several errors in grammar and punctuation, such as 'offer the opportunity to their employees to spend' and 'represents its company' (mismatch in plural/singular references). Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, and the sentence structures are sufficiently varied to achieve a Band 6.0.

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

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