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)

Every undergraduate program in university should have a set period of time taking education abroad or have an internship. One of the major benefit of working or studying in another country will be the opportunity of learning new skills as well as have different social interactions that will make students more confident. However, the downsides of being in a foreign country for education is experiencing difficulty in settling to the new environment and having different study or working protocols.

One of the leverage in spending sometime abroad is learning new skills and implementing those skills in practical life. This experience of having a new environment will improve their cognitive ability of how they perceive new challenges and how effectively they handle them as this will enhance their problem solving ability. Moreover, moving abroad for sometime will have a positive impact on their social interaction skills and the students will be able to adapt and make new friends. They will learn to communicate more effectively and with people from different background. For instance, student who travel to different places have broader thinking and have more knowledge of places that they have been to.

Studying abroad also comes with some drawbacks. One of the prominent obstacle that student face is lack of adapting and they have issues settling abroad. Living alone will have some detrimental effect on their health and they can even suffer from anxiety or depression. Furthermore, the feeling of not belonging to that country will make them feel awkward and can have negative impact on their performance. For example, I know many of my cla

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages of mandatory study abroad or work placements. However, the essay is incomplete, ending abruptly mid-sentence in the final paragraph. This prevents a full conclusion and a clear, consistent position throughout. While the main ideas regarding skill development and social interaction are relevant, the development is somewhat repetitive. To reach a higher band, you must ensure the essay is finished with a clear summary of your position and avoid leaving sentences unfinished, as this significantly impacts the overall task completion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay uses basic cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'However', and 'For instance' to link ideas. Paragraphing is present, but the abrupt ending disrupts the logical flow of the argument. Referencing is generally clear, but the progression of ideas is sometimes mechanical. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that each paragraph transitions smoothly into the next. The lack of a concluding paragraph is a major issue for coherence, as it leaves the reader without a final synthesis of your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'cognitive ability', 'detrimental effect', and 'protocols'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'One of the leverage' (should be 'advantages') and 'One of the prominent obstacle' (should be 'obstacles'). The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Focus on learning common collocations and ensuring subject-verb agreement with plural nouns after 'one of the'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'One of the major benefit' (should be 'benefits'), 'student who travel' (should be 'students who travel'), and 'for sometime' (should be 'for some time'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the incomplete final sentence is a significant error. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and pluralization errors.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.