Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-10

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 6.0)

Nowadays, the internship is most significant part of study after the theoretical knowledge therefore it is a crucial part of higher education. From my perspectives advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

On the one hand, there are two main drawbacks. Firstly, study abroad are expensive, so it is very difficult for the poor families because they are not capable to afford expenses of accomodation, and living cost in other country. This would create an unequality between the poor and rich peoples. Secondly living in a foreign country is stressful because they suffer from homesickness and cultural shockwhich can affect their studies and mental health. for instance, as they move abroad for higher studies in Australia they faces many challenges physically and mentally because of hectic schedule of life.

On the other hand, there are greater advantages. The main advantage is practical experience. University education is a theortical education after that they do internship related to main subjects from which they got practical experience which is very beneficial for getting jobs after the practical knowledge. For example an engineer student works in a company where they gather information about machines accurately as compared to inexperience studens. This experience also helps to improves their chance of getting better jobs after graduation, as emplyers prefer candidates wit real experience. Another important benefit is personal growth. studying abroab also help the students become independent, confident and open-minded. These are valuable life skills that cannot be taught in classroom.

In conclusion, while cost and homesickness are real concerns, the practical skills, better job opportunitiesand personal developmentgained from studying abroad or doing work and placement are far more valuable. Therefore, i believe that universities should make this compulsory part.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction—advantages outweigh disadvantages—and is maintained in the conclusion. You address both sides of the question, identifying affordability and homesickness as drawbacks and practical experience, employability, and personal growth as benefits. The examples about an engineering student gaining workplace experience and students adapting abroad help support your points. This fits a response that addresses all parts and extends its ideas, although some claims remain broad: for example, the discussion of personal growth is asserted rather than illustrated, and the Australia example does not explain its effect on academic performance in detail. Develop one or two points further with a specific consequence or example, and clarify how universities could make placements accessible to students with limited means.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on disadvantages, a paragraph on advantages, and a conclusion. The contrast between “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” makes the progression easy to follow, and the main ideas are generally grouped appropriately. This is coherent overall and shows some effective organisation, but cohesion is not always smooth. Several sentences begin with “This” or “These” without a precise link to the preceding idea, and the examples sometimes feel added rather than fully connected to the point they support. The conclusion also compresses several ideas into one sentence. Use clearer referencing and add short explanatory links after examples to show exactly how they support your argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “practical experience,” “homesickness,” “cultural shock,” “independent,” and “open-minded.” These choices allow you to discuss both educational and personal outcomes. However, the range and control are uneven, with noticeable spelling, word-form, and collocation errors such as “unequality,” “inexperience studens,” “emplyers,” and “better job opportunitiesand.” Some phrases are also unnatural, including “the internship is most significant part” and “gather information about machines accurately.” These errors sometimes make the reader pause, even though your main meaning is usually recoverable. Build accuracy by checking spelling and choosing natural combinations, such as “gain hands-on experience” and “employers value relevant experience.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including cause-and-effect structures with “so” and “because,” and a relative clause in “candidates wit real experience” (intended as “who have real experience”). This gives the response some structural variety. However, errors in sentence formation and control are frequent enough to affect fluency: “study abroad are expensive” has subject–verb disagreement, “they faces” uses the wrong verb form, and “This experience also helps to improves” has an incorrect verb pattern. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “it is a crucial part” after an incomplete opening construction and the lowercase “for instance” after a full stop. Practise checking agreement, articles, verb patterns, and punctuation, then proofread each sentence for a complete and correctly formed structure.

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