Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-12

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)

This question is relevant nowadays, with the easy possibilities to travel around the world, but it is not the best for ecological reason.

The idea of having a different period during the courses involving a job or the chance to studying abroad is awesome. This can offer student's profesionnal experiences, develop new skills, be more confident, open their minds and visions of the world. They can either come back from their travels with memories and new fellings or making economy with their salaries from their jobs and a good point on their cv.

One of the disadvantage of this idea is the unequality between students. Having the opportunity to studying abroad is great but it cost a lot. For some people it is not a possibility especially if they are depending on parent's ressources. In that case, they can have the opportunity to benefit from a work placement, but it is not the same experience and not the same excitement. Also, asking all the students to do either a job or a studying travel, can putt them in an unconfortable position, as they have to find a job in relation to their studies, organised their travels if they are going abroad and potentially moving-out from their actual apartement. It can make the students very stressfull when they are not prepared for that. If each university ask their students to studying aborad for a period, it implies a lots of travel by airplanes and impact the ecology.

In conclusion, studying abroad or a work placement are great experiences and opportunities for undergraduate students and most of the universities should include this in their program, but it has to be a possibility and not an obligation. In my experience, I had this possibility with my university and I got the chance to work in Germany for 3 months. This experience was wonderful but not enought for me, so I'm now still working abroad and I have discovered so many countries.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both the benefits and drawbacks and give a clear overall view: these experiences are valuable, but should be available rather than compulsory. Relevant benefits include professional experience, new skills and greater confidence; you also identify cost, stress and environmental impact as disadvantages. Your personal example of working in Germany supports your position and adds a specific perspective. This meets the task well, while some points are more fully explained than others: for example, the financial barrier is clear, but the claim that a placement is “not the same experience” is not explored. To strengthen the response further, explain more directly why the benefits do or do not outweigh the disadvantages, rather than concluding mainly that participation should be optional.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a longer paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion with a personal example. The reader can follow the main line of argument, and transitions such as “One of the disadvantage” and “In conclusion” signal the stages of the discussion. However, the benefits paragraph combines several points in a list, while the disadvantages paragraph moves quickly from cost to stress and then environmental effects. Some links are also unclear, particularly the contrast between studying abroad and work placement. Group related ideas more deliberately and use clearer references to show how each point supports your view on whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “professional experiences,” “develop new skills,” “uncomfortable position,” and “impact the ecology,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts to express less familiar concepts, such as “inequality between students.” However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision: “profesionnal,” “fellings,” “ressources,” and “aborad” are misspelled, while “making economy” does not naturally express saving money. Some phrases are also imprecise, such as “a different period during the courses.” Proofread spelling and learn common collocations as complete phrases; this would make your vocabulary more accurate and natural without requiring more complicated words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional structure (“when they are not prepared for that”) and a sentence explaining the consequences of making the experience compulsory. The overall meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “the chance to studying” should use an infinitive, and “it cost a lot” needs agreement with “it.” There are also problems with articles, plurals and verb forms in “One of the disadvantage,” “asking all the students … can putt them,” and “organised their travels.” These errors do not usually prevent understanding, but they limit accuracy. Review verb patterns after “chance,” subject–verb agreement, and consistent forms in lists; then check each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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