Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-04

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)

It is often argued that all undergraduate students spend some time studying abroad or completing a work placement as part of their university education. Although this may have some disadvantages, but I firmly believe that the advantages of such experience are greater.

One major advantage of studying abroad or doing a work placement is that students can develop practical skills that cannot always be gained in the classroom. For example, a work placement allow students to experience a professional environment and learn how to communicate and work effectively with colleague. This experience can improve their employment prospects after graduation, as employers often value candidates who have practical knowledge in addition to academic qualifications. Similarly, studying abroad teaches new skills, students become independent and learn about different cultures. Another benefit is that it teaches us different languages which help students in their lives to communicate with different people from different sites.

However, there are some disadvantages to this approach. The most significant one is the financial cost. Students who study abroad may have to pay for travel, accommodation and daily expenses, which can be difficult for those from low-income families. Moreover, spending time away from universities may disturb their academic routine. This semester break can cause more problems during job requirement. Nevertheless, these problems could reduce scholarships, financial support and well organized university programmes.

In conclusion, although studying abroad or completing a work placement can be costly and has affect on academic routines. I firmly believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The practical experience, independence and opportunities for career gained from these programmes can be valuable for our future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, covering professional development, independence, and cultural awareness, as well as counter-arguments regarding costs and academic disruption. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the point about 'job requirement' is unclear, and the suggestion that scholarships could solve financial issues is a bit simplistic. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your examples with more specific detail or logical explanation, ensuring that every point directly supports your central argument without leaving the reader to infer your meaning.

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 from the disadvantages. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'One major advantage', 'Similarly', 'However', and 'In conclusion'. However, there are some minor issues with flow and referencing. For example, the sentence 'This semester break can cause more problems during job requirement' is somewhat disconnected from the previous point. Additionally, the use of 'but' in the first paragraph after 'Although' is a grammatical error that slightly disrupts the cohesion of the opening statement.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'professional environment', 'employment prospects', and 'academic qualifications'. There are some instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'different sites' (which is vague) and 'has affect on' (which should be 'has an effect on'). While you attempt to use more sophisticated language, some collocations are slightly unnatural. To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring that word forms (e.g., noun vs. verb) are used correctly in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, 'a work placement allow' (subject-verb agreement error), 'colleague' (should be plural 'colleagues'), and 'well organized' (missing hyphen). Additionally, the sentence 'Although this may have some disadvantages, but I firmly believe...' is a common error where two conjunctions are used incorrectly. You have a good grasp of basic structures, but you need to pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and pluralization to minimize these recurring errors.

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