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)

It is becoming increasingly common for universities to offer undergraduate programmes that include either work placements or opportunities to study abroad. While this approach has some drawbacks, I believe its advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

To commence with, it helps students to gather more practical knowledge and to broaden their horizons before entering into the professional world. These opportunities not only allow them to spend dedicated time, but also assist to prepare themselves for future endeavours. While doing an apprenticeship

with a multinational organization, students develop a wide range of valuable skills. For instance, they acquire good communication skills, become logical thinkers, and work alongside people from different cultural backgrounds allows them more vulnerable. Moreover, they engage technology so so deeply while on these work placements, so after completing their graduation they gain numerous better opportunities.

Conversely, sometimes these placements are significantly expensive, especially studying abroad. Students from low-income families are unable to take advantage of such opportunities. Furthermore, some students are not so confident to cope with other people around, so that it becomes difficult for them to survive in a different country. For example, a student from a rural area may struggle to communicate in a foreign language and adjust to a new culture, which can affect both their academic performance and overall well-being.

In conclusion, although it impacts some student's academic performance and overall well-being who are not able to cope with different culture. However, it serves numerous advantages such as it helps to enhance their practical knowledge, broaden their horizons and acquire communication and interpersonal skills.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of practical skills and financial barriers. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation of how students become 'more vulnerable' is unclear and lacks logical connection to the previous point about cultural backgrounds. While the conclusion attempts to summarize the main points, it is grammatically fragmented and does not fully synthesize the argument. To improve, ensure that each supporting point is fully explained with clear examples rather than just listing benefits or drawbacks.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Conversely', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, the flow within paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by awkward phrasing, such as the repetition of 'so so' and the fragmented structure of the final sentence. Referencing is generally clear, but the transition between the benefits and the drawbacks could be smoother. The use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical, and the overall progression of ideas would benefit from more sophisticated linking words to connect complex thoughts.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'apprenticeship', 'multinational organization', and 'interpersonal skills'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'allows them more vulnerable' and 'engage technology so so deeply'. These errors do not impede communication but indicate a need for more precise usage. To reach a higher band, focus on using more academic collocations and avoiding informal or repetitive intensifiers like 'so so'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the student attempts complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and sentence fragments. For instance, the concluding sentence is a fragment starting with 'Although' and 'However' in the same sequence, which is grammatically incorrect. There are also minor errors in article usage and prepositional phrases. While these errors rarely impede the overall meaning, they are frequent enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence boundary control and proofreading for basic grammatical slips would be beneficial.

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