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

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)

people have different views regarding that large international companies offer their staff the opportunity to spend a period of time living and working in another country. This essay will discuss both perspectives.

Firstly, If I talk about the advantages there are many, the first one is that you get the international exposure, you get to know how the life functions in abroad. You get to know new languages which can be very helpful for you in future. People who got the opportunity can experience what is work life balance as in India there is no concept of that. For example, there is a company in India and the person works there so that company will call the employee any time and will ask him or her to attend the meeting or do the work even on holidays , but this not the case in abroad, day off is regarded as day off only. The main advantage is that the staff is paid more salary there.

In Addition, sending the employee abroad is also beneficial for the company as it will make their company name more popular. When the staff will be back from there so the skills which he learnt internationally will be very helpful for the employer.

As we all know that every coin has two sides, so the disadvantages are that it becomes difficult to manage the things single handly in a new country. It is a big task to adapt to a new culture and rules. Doing work full day then making your food yourself that's a task for some people.

To conclude, There are minor disadvantages, but we can't overlook the advantages this opportunity brings with it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both required questions: employee benefits include international exposure, language learning, and higher pay, while company benefits include greater visibility and the return of internationally acquired skills. These points are relevant, but several are asserted rather than explained. For instance, the claim that staff are paid more is not linked to why working abroad offers this benefit, and the company’s increased popularity is not supported with an example. The discussion of disadvantages is not requested and takes space from developing the two advantages more fully. Your position is clear in the conclusion, but the opening says the essay will discuss “both perspectives,” which is imprecise for a task asking about benefits for two groups. Develop each group’s benefits with clearer reasoning and relevant examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has an introduction, separate paragraphs for employee and company benefits, and a conclusion, so there is some organisation. However, progression is not consistently clear: the employee-benefit paragraph moves from exposure to language, work-life balance, an extended example, and salary without showing how the points relate. The paragraph beginning “In Addition” is brief, and the disadvantages paragraph interrupts the focus on the two questions. Linking phrases such as “Firstly,” “In Addition,” and “To conclude” provide basic signposting, but some are mechanical or do not accurately describe the structure. Use one focused paragraph for each question, connect each claim to its explanation, and make references such as “there” and “the skills” more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “international exposure,” “work life balance,” “adapt to a new culture,” and “skills which he learnt internationally.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several expressions are repetitive or imprecise. “You get to know” appears repeatedly, while “the company name more popular” is an awkward way to describe a business benefit. There are also word-choice and spelling problems, such as “single handly” and “in abroad,” which reduce naturalness. Aim for more precise collocations and vary how you express benefits—for example, describe employees as gaining cross-cultural experience and companies as strengthening their international presence.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional example beginning “For example, there is a company in India…” and a clause about skills learned internationally. However, control is inconsistent, and errors in sentence structure, verb forms, articles, and punctuation sometimes make the reader work to follow the meaning. Examples include “this not the case in abroad,” “When the staff will be back,” and the long sentence beginning “For example,” which joins several ideas without clear punctuation. Capitalisation is also inconsistent after sentence breaks, as in “Firstly, If” and “To conclude, There.” Practise building accurate complex sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and check articles, tense choices, and sentence boundaries during editing.

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