Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-09

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 6.5)

Studying abroad or doing work placements for a certain time period during an undergraduate course should be a situation that every student experiences at least once in their lifetime. Therefore, I believe that it is more beneficial than harmful for many different reasons.

Firstly, work placements allow students to experience in real time how working in the field actually feels rather than finding out once they have graduated. In some cases, students may think that they would enjoy persuing the course they have chosen once they start working. However, once they undergo a work placement they may find themselves re-thinking their choices. For instance, a biomedical student may think that they have found the course that suites them but, once they attend a work placement, they could decide that they would rather pursue studies in business.

Secondly, a work placement allows students to gain genuine experiences that enriches their CVs. For example, a medical student would be an intern at a hospital for a few weeks and gain hands on experience on things they learn in lectures. This enhances their understandings of the field.

Studying abroad can be beneficial as a student would experience a new culture while still following their usual studies. It allows the students to be more open minded and view how the work ethic of their own country differs from the other. For instance, a student could travel to China for an exchange program in a business course and learn further about the chinese market and have a deeper understanding on the matter.

In conclusion, work placements and studying abroad are extremely advantagious and thus not much negative can be discussed on the topic. So, I think that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and you return to this view in the conclusion. You address both work placements and studying abroad, with relevant examples such as a biomedical student reconsidering a career and a business student learning about the Chinese market. However, the discussion is weighted toward benefits, and the disadvantages are not explored; the conclusion simply says that “not much negative can be discussed.” Some benefits are also asserted rather than fully explained—for example, the claim that placements enrich CVs could be linked more clearly to employability. Develop the comparison by acknowledging realistic drawbacks, such as cost or disruption to study, and explaining why the benefits still outweigh them.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs on placements and overseas study, and a concluding position. “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “For instance” help readers follow the examples, and the ideas generally progress logically. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some of the flexibility associated with stronger cohesion. However, the sequence is somewhat list-like, with each paragraph presenting a benefit without consistently linking it back to the central comparison of advantages and disadvantages. The final paragraph also repeats the position rather than synthesising the main points. Add clearer links between claims and their consequences, and use a transition to introduce and weigh a drawback.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “work placements,” “hands on experience,” “exchange program,” and “work ethic.” These choices make the subject clear, and attempts such as “enriches their CVs” and “deeper understanding” show an effort to express specific benefits. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or imprecise, however: “a situation that every student experiences” is awkward for a required course component, and “understandings of the field” is not natural in this context. There are also spelling errors in “persuing,” “suites,” “chinese,” and “advantagious.” Check spelling carefully and build more precise collocations, such as “gain practical experience” and “improve employment prospects.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses with “once” and “while,” and most sentences communicate their meaning clearly. For example, the sentence beginning “However, once they undergo a work placement” handles a conditional sequence effectively. Some grammatical errors remain. In “a biomedical student may think that they have found the course,” the pronoun reference is awkward; “a student may think they have chosen the right course” would be clearer. In “a work placement allows students to gain genuine experiences that enriches their CVs,” the relative clause has a subject–verb agreement error: “experiences that enrich.” Review agreement and sentence construction, while continuing to use varied complex forms.

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