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 universities should provide opportunities for the undergraduate students to study or undertake work placements abroad during their courses. Although some student may experience financial pressure due to these exchange programmes. I believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

One of the main advantage of this approach is that it provides student a valuable practical exposure. With these exchange program of studying or undertake work placement help them to get chance to develop important skills such as communication, problem solving and teamwork along with these skills students get real life exposure they will learn to interact with different community people and soak up the variety of cultural things apart from their religion. for instance, a student who complete their work placement abroad can gain practical knowledge of workplace while also learn to communicate. Therefore, this kind of experience may help them to get more career prospects.

However, there are some disadvantages to this approach. The most significant drawback of studying or undertake work placement is disruption of their academic journey. Student get disrupts from their schedule and have less time to give their regular studies. they need to adjust new educational system or workplace. Another potential drawback is experiencing financial pressure. because this exchange approach requires the expenses for accommodation, food, travel and tuition fees. Families with low incomes may find difficult to afford all these expenses. Therefore, this opportunity is not equally suitable for all students.

In conclusion, from my opinion yes this is indispensable opportunity for the student to grow in their career and learn something new but at the same time not all the students get benefits from this opportunity. that's universities should provide some expense or scholarship for these kinds of programs.

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, such as practical exposure and skill development, as well as the counter-arguments regarding academic disruption and financial strain. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how work placements lead to 'career prospects' is brief and could be more deeply explored with specific examples. The conclusion introduces a new point about scholarships, which is a good suggestion but slightly shifts the focus away from the core debate. Overall, the response is well-structured and maintains a consistent position throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. There is a progression of ideas from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as the repetitive use of 'this approach' or 'this kind of experience'. Referencing is generally clear, but there are instances where transitions between sentences feel abrupt, such as the start of the second paragraph. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the advantages and disadvantages, which helps the reader follow the argument easily.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'exchange programmes', 'practical exposure', and 'career prospects'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are occasional errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'soak up the variety of cultural things' and 'get chance to develop'. These do not impede communication, but they highlight a need for more precise and academic phrasing to reach a higher band. The repetition of basic verbs like 'get' and 'learn' also limits the sophistication of the writing.

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 frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'some student may', 'student get disrupts') and article usage. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several sentence fragments and run-on sentences, such as 'Although some student may experience financial pressure due to these exchange programmes. I believe...'. These errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text. To improve, the student should focus on sentence boundary control and ensuring that complex structures are formed accurately without losing clarity.

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