Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-02

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)

Over the past few decades, a considerable number of individuals have been going abroad for study and training purposes. While this trend has a few drawbacks, from my perspective the advantages of such a trend outweigh the disadvantages. In this essay, before concluding I will discuss both the benefits and the drawbacks of the trend.

To begin with, the first and most significant of such trend is exposure to different cultures. By spending time while studying abroad Students are exposed to other side of the world. It enhances student's several capabilities and teaches lifelong lesson. Furthermore, the courses integrated with well planned short internships prior to actual placement can assist students to stand out in competitive job market. As the current companies require experience for even entry level jobs. By integrating these types of internship can enhance the overall value of candidate.

On the other hand, this trend has a few drawbacks, as such trends can easily distract students from their actual goal and aim of a life. When people begin earning they show less interest in studies which is sacrosanct for each student to complete the course. Moreover, when student spend time studying abroad they faces several type of obstacles such as language barrier, financial issue and isolation because students are not cognizant of culture and environment.

To conclude, although doing a work placement or time spent studying abroad can be a reason for distraction, it offers prior experience, enhancement of capabilities and support in standing out among competition also should be considered. As for me in this matter the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, such as cultural exposure and employability, but they are somewhat under-developed. For instance, the point about 'lifelong lessons' is vague and lacks specific explanation. The discussion of drawbacks is also a bit brief. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your examples—perhaps by explaining how a specific type of internship directly leads to a job offer or by detailing how a language barrier can be overcome. The conclusion effectively restates your position, but ensure your main body paragraphs provide more depth to fully support your arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use some cohesive devices like 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'On the other hand' to signal transitions. However, the flow within paragraphs is occasionally mechanical, and some sentences feel disjointed. For example, the transition between the benefits of internships and the drawbacks is abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as the use of 'such trend' repeatedly. Improving the variety of your linking words and ensuring that each sentence flows naturally into the next will help improve the overall cohesion of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'competitive job market', 'cognizant', and 'sacrosanct'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'actual goal and aim of a life' (which is slightly unnatural) and 'as such trends can easily distract'. Some vocabulary is also repetitive. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding wordiness. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, incorporating more sophisticated, academic-style synonyms would elevate your score. Ensure you check the context of the words you use to ensure they sound natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that occasionally hinder the flow. For example, 'By spending time while studying abroad Students are exposed...' contains a capitalization error and a missing comma. There are also subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'when student spend time' (should be 'students') and 'it faces' (should be 'they face'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement, pluralization, and punctuation to improve your accuracy.

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