Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-16

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)

International education and internships outside the school should be included by all University undergraduate courses since it benefits more to students. I am of the view that the positive impact associated with this far outweighs the negative consequences.

This is on top of the fact that studying abroad and doing trainings outside the school campus will result to more expenses for the students, since tuition fees would be increased. This happens because the University needs to associate with different companies, agencies or organisations for their permission to let the undergraduate students work with them. For instance, those who will be studying abroad such as exchange students, they will be spending a lot of money for their transportation, accommodation, and the school fees to both schools.

However, the advantage of including work placement and studying abroad to the courses of undergraduates would be the ability to gain hands-on experiences and skills. Letting students experience real life scenarios in a workplace would help them be ready for their future careers and expertise, moreover they will have the knowledge on what really happens on site. This is very common to courses related to Allied Health wherein they are trained in hospitals and clinics. As a result, their confidence is boosted because they already learned how to deal with patients and clients, and know that they are already skilled enough to perform on their own.

To conclude, there are more benefits of including international education and job training for undergraduate students even though there are negative consequences regarding expenses, advantages still outweighs it since it will prepare them for their future careers.

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; however, the development is somewhat uneven. The discussion on the disadvantages focuses primarily on financial costs, while the advantages section provides a more concrete example regarding Allied Health courses. To reach a higher band, the argument could be strengthened by exploring other dimensions of the topic, such as cultural exchange or long-term employability, rather than focusing heavily on the logistical and financial aspects of university partnerships. The conclusion effectively restates the position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'For instance', 'However', and 'As a result', which help guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the second paragraph starts with 'This is on top of the fact that...', which is a slightly awkward way to introduce a new point. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the disadvantages from the advantages.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their ideas clearly. There is some attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'hands-on experiences', 'real life scenarios', and 'Allied Health'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are occasional inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'doing trainings' (training is an uncountable noun) and 'associate with different companies' (partner with would be more precise). The language is functional but lacks the sophistication and precision required for higher band scores.

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 several grammatical errors that persist throughout the text. Examples include 'it benefits more to students' (it is more beneficial to students), 'result to more expenses' (result in), and 'advantages still outweighs it' (subject-verb agreement error: advantages outweigh). Punctuation is generally correct, but the frequency of these minor grammatical slips prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. The majority of sentences are understandable, but the control over complex structures is not yet consistent.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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