Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-01

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that professionals, such as doctors and engineers, should be required to work in the country where they did their training. Others believe they should be free to work in another country if they wish.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

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

Student answer (Band 8.0)

It is often argued that skilled professionals, such as medical doctors and engineers, ought to remain in the nation where they qualified. However, others contend that these individuals should have the liberty to seek employment anywhere in the world. In my opinion, while governments invest significantly in professional education, individuals should ultimately retain the personal freedom to decide where they live and work.

On the one hand, proponents of mandatory local service argue that a country deserves a return on its investment. Training high-level experts requires considerable public funding, subsidized tuition, and state-backed educational facilities. If newly qualified doctors or engineers leave immediately after graduation, the home nation suffers a severe "brain drain" and faces shortages in essential public services. For instance, in many developing nations, rural hospitals frequently lack qualified medical staff because young doctors relocate to Western countries for higher pay. Therefore, forcing professionals to serve locally for a set period ensures that public resources directly benefit the local taxpayers who funded them.

On the other hand, those who advocate for global mobility emphasize basic human rights and personal career progression. Restricting skilled workers to one country can limit their professional growth, especially if local industries lack modern infrastructure or competitive salaries. Allowing professionals to move internationally enables them to gain advanced knowledge, acquire innovative skills, and earn higher incomes. Furthermore, many overseas workers send remittances back home to support their families, which indirectly boosts their home country’s economy.

In conclusion, although obligating professionals to stay in their training country helps secure vital local services, I believe that restricting career mobility is unfair. Instead of enforcing mandatory service, governments should focus on improving working conditions and salaries locally to encourage skilled workers to stay voluntarily.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response covers all parts of the task well, presenting a fully developed discussion on both sides of the issue alongside a clear, well-supported personal position established in the introduction. The ideas are extended and supported effectively, as seen in the second paragraph where the argument regarding public funding and the 'brain drain' phenomenon is elaborated with a concrete example about rural hospitals in developing nations. Similarly, the counter-perspective regarding human rights, career progression, and remittances is logically explored. While there is a slight tendency to over-generalise typical outcomes in global mobility, the response maintains a well-reasoned stance throughout and addresses the prompt comprehensively.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are coherently sequenced, moving smoothly from the introductory stance to the arguments for mandatory service, the opposing view for global mobility, and finally a balanced conclusion. Cohesive devices are used flexibly and appropriately, with transitional markers such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'For instance', and 'Furthermore' guiding the reader seamlessly between paragraphs. Paragraphing is managed skilfully, with each paragraph centering on a distinct, clearly defined central topic and supporting arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 8.0

The writer displays a wide, fluent, and flexible range of vocabulary that allows for precision and nuance. There is skilful use of less common and sophisticated lexical items, such as 'liberty', 'subsidized tuition', 'brain drain', 'remittances', and 'career mobility'. Word choice and collocations are generally natural, and terminology is deployed accurately throughout. Only occasional, very minor inaccuracies might appear at the absolute highest level, but the current vocabulary choice easily allows the writer to convey precise meanings and maintain an appropriate academic tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 8.0

The response features a wide range of complex grammatical structures used with a high degree of control. The majority of sentences are error-free, showcasing sophisticated syntactic variety such as conditional clauses ('If newly qualified doctors or engineers leave immediately...'), concessive subordinate clauses ('although obligating professionals to stay...'), and well-embedded relative clauses. Punctuation is handled accurately, and control over verb forms, tenses, subject-verb agreement, articles, and prepositions within complex patterns is strong, resulting in fluent, natural-sounding academic prose with only very occasional slips.

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