Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-05

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)

In recent globalized economy, higher education is increasingly focused on preparing students for the real world. It is firmly believed that that all undergraduate should strictly have either a semester studying abroad or a professional work placement. From my perspective, while there are financial and logistical challenges , there are benefits of global exposure and practical work experience far outweighs the advantages.

On one hand, making these programs compulsory can place a heavy burden on various students. The primary downtown is the financial strain associated with travelling abroad or securing internships or scholarships. Students from low-income backgrounds may struggle to afford the flights, accommodation, and daily living costs in foreign countries. Furthermore, forcing a requirement to study all the subjects is not practical. Irrelevance of certain fields forcing an undergraduate to focus majorly on Mathematics and Philosophy, forcing them into marketing internship would be a waste of their academic time.

On the other hand, the professional and personal growth of students begins and has profound advantages. From career perspective, a work placement is feasible. Students graduate with tangible workplace skills, a professional network , and a stronger resume making them highly employable. Additionally, studying abroad fosters independence and cross-cultural communication skills. These experimental learning opportunities ultimately transforms students into well-rounded, mature professionals. Work placements at tech companies like Google and SIEMENS often graduate with practical and project management skills, allowing them to secure full-time job offers immediately upon graduation.

In conclusion, despite the financial hurdles and implementation challenges for some academic disciplines, I firmly believe the advantages are significantly more impactful. The expertise gained from work placements and the cultural intelligence built through international study provide students with a competitive edge which learning in traditional classroom learning simply cannot match.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, maintaining a clear position throughout. The arguments regarding financial strain and academic relevance are relevant, as are the points on professional development and cultural intelligence. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. For instance, the argument about the irrelevance of certain fields (Mathematics and Philosophy) is a bit underdeveloped and could have been better linked to the core requirement of the prompt. The conclusion effectively summarizes the stance, though the overall position could be more nuanced in its acknowledgment of the 'disadvantages' mentioned in the introduction. The response is well-focused on the topic throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the advantages and disadvantages. Cohesive devices such as 'On one hand,' 'Furthermore,' and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, there are minor issues with referencing and flow; for example, the phrase 'the benefits of global exposure... far outweighs the advantages' in the introduction is slightly confusing as it repeats the word 'advantages' in a way that contradicts the intended meaning. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and demonstrates a sufficient range for the task. Phrases like 'tangible workplace skills,' 'cross-cultural communication,' and 'competitive edge' show a good command of topic-specific language. There are some minor errors in word choice, such as 'downtown' instead of 'downside' or 'drawback,' and 'experimental' instead of 'experiential.' While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise word selection. The range is adequate to convey complex ideas, but more sophisticated collocations would be needed for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'all undergraduate should' (should be 'undergraduates'), 'that that' (repetition), and 'these experimental learning opportunities ultimately transforms' (subject-verb agreement error). Additionally, the sentence 'there are benefits... far outweighs' is grammatically incorrect. Despite these errors, the meaning is always clear, and the writer demonstrates an ability to construct complex sentences. Improving proofreading to catch subject-verb agreement and pluralization errors would significantly enhance the accuracy of the writing.

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