Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-15

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 often argued that all university undergraduate courses should give some time for education in foreign or doing work for gaining work experiences. I think the advantages outweigh the drawbacks.

One of the main advantages is that, that students have an international exposure. Students can learn from international learners during their courses. Moreover, if university course involves a work experience for their student, they will get valuable skill related to their courses. It is a future investment because they take real-life skills with their academic studies. It will ultimately help them in the future. For example, engineers may learn more with practical work as their studies required practical skills.

Turning to the drawbacks, students may struggle with courses time. They will work along with their education which will consume their time, at the end of their degree time, they may not complete their courses. Furthermore, foreign studies may discourage students. If they go to foreign and see overseas learners are better than them, they may loose their confidence. For instance, if Pakistani educators go to China, they see the Chinese students, they have a good education system, involving practical knowledge. Thus, Pakistani students may loose their hopes. Although this period of time has certain disadvantages, I believe it has more benefits because doing a job or going to overseas is not a waste of time, but it is a investment of time.

In conclusion, university courses including time for working or studying abroad has some drawbacks but we can not unseen the advantages because they are far more beneficial.

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 gaining international exposure and practical skills. However, the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding the drawbacks is slightly underdeveloped; the example about Pakistani students in China is a bit specific and could have been framed more broadly to support the argument more effectively. While the position is clear throughout, the supporting points could benefit from more depth and nuance to reach a higher band level. Overall, the response is well-focused on the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the advantages and disadvantages. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Turning to the drawbacks', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, there are instances where the flow is slightly mechanical, and some referencing is a bit repetitive. For example, the transition between the benefits of work experience and the example of engineers could be smoother. Despite these minor issues, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'future investment' and 'international exposure'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'courses time' instead of 'course duration' and 'loose their hopes' instead of 'lose their hope'. The spelling error 'loose' for 'lose' occurs twice. To improve, the student should focus on more precise collocations and ensure the correct spelling of common verbs.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the courses time', 'a investment') and prepositions ('go to foreign'). There are also some awkward phrasings, such as 'if university course involves a work experience for their student'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are persistent. The student should work on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles to improve the accuracy of their writing and achieve a higher band score.

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