Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-03

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)

There is an ongoing debates on whether all univercity undergraduates courses should incorporate studying or doing work placement at overseas for a period of time. This essay will discuss both perpectives before explaining why I believe studying abroad offer several amazing benefits the local univercity can't provide and some clear challenges come with it.

On on hand, supporter of univercity undergraduate should study or doing work placement obroad agrue that they offer various benefits the local college can't give. Studying abroad offer benefits such as allowing student to become much more independence and able to learn probelm solving skills by living alone in a new culture and environment. For example, through this student able to learn how to cook the meal by himself without depending on parents and doing house chores alone or house mates. These skills can help building self independence so they don't have to rely others and costly takeout food for basic survival. Furthermore, multi national companies often prioritize candidates with international experince or resume, because working cross-culture and language skills they carry with.

On the other hand, critics contend that studying oversea alone come with several disadvantages. One well-know example is the high costs of living compared to studying at local univercity,in which student have to pay higher tuition fees, accomodations and daily living expenses can add up quickly and creating a massive financial stress especially for low-income family. In addition, study or living alone can cause culture shock such as homesickness and loneliness causing a huge burden on mental health affecting their academic performance.

In conclusion, studing abroad offer some benefits that local college or univercity can't provide.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The essay addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of mandatory study abroad or work placements. The position is clear from the introduction. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention independence and problem-solving, the examples provided, such as 'cooking meals,' are a bit simplistic for an academic essay. Additionally, the conclusion is abrupt and fails to provide a final summary or a clear restatement of your position, which is a requirement for a higher band. To improve, ensure that your arguments are fully extended with more sophisticated reasoning and that your conclusion effectively synthesizes the main points discussed in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On one hand,' 'Furthermore,' and 'In addition' to link your points. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by mechanical errors and repetitive phrasing. For instance, the transition between the benefits and the drawbacks is functional but lacks sophistication. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the lack of a proper concluding summary makes the overall structure feel incomplete. To improve, try to use a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that each paragraph has a strong topic sentence that clearly links back to the main argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'incorporate,' 'prioritize,' and 'financial stress.' However, there are several spelling errors ('univercity,' 'perpectives,' 'obroad,' 'experince') and some awkward collocations, such as 'doing work placement' instead of 'undertaking a work placement.' The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. To improve, focus on learning the correct spelling of common academic terms and pay closer attention to word forms and collocations. Expanding your range of topic-specific vocabulary related to education and international experience would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, they are frequently marred by grammatical errors, such as 'studying or doing work placement' (parallelism error) and 'student able to learn' (missing verb). There are also frequent issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'supporter of univercity' instead of 'supporters of university.' While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically subject-verb agreement and the correct use of gerunds and infinitives.

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