Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Nowadays, most of the universities tend to include period of studying abroad or work placements in their undergrdauate courses. I personally believe that there are numerous benefits of it with only a few minor drawbacks.

One evident advantage is the exposure as an international student such as getting international knowledge regarding particular field of study, exploring different labs and sharing information with other students from all over the world. Moreover, spending time as an international student is great way of networking and as a result students would have greater future opportunities after the completion of their degrees. Furthermore, including the condition of work placement in undergraduate courses allow students to get hands on practical experience along with their degree. This allows them to work in real life scenarios instead of just reading the text books and enhance their practical skills. As a result, they will become more suitable candidates for future job opportunities after the completion of their degrees.

On the other hand, this approach also has few drawbacks. Firstly, studying abroad is quite expensive and is not everyone's cup of tea. Even on 100% tuition fee waiver, students still have to manage their other expenses and sometimes it becomes very overwhelming, specially for the ones coming from middleclass backgrounds. Secondly, doing a job along with the studies often become very tough for the students. They often struggle to manage time for both studies and work and end up with getting low grades in their coursework.

In conclusion, I think that inclusion of studying abroad period or job placements in undergraduate courses have more gains such as international exposure, networking opportunities, practical experience and better future opportunities but there are some disadvantages that should not be ignored.

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 and supported with examples, such as networking and practical experience. However, the development is somewhat limited; for instance, the discussion on the drawbacks could be more deeply explored to provide a more balanced argument. While the position is clear throughout, the essay would benefit from more detailed elaboration on how these experiences specifically impact long-term career trajectories to reach a higher band level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'On the other hand' are used effectively to guide the reader through the argument. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the advantages from the disadvantages. The progression of ideas is clear, though some transitions could be more sophisticated to improve the flow between sentences. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. The student uses some topic-specific terms like 'tuition fee waiver', 'undergraduate courses', and 'practical experience'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies and informal phrasing, such as 'not everyone's cup of tea' and 'more gains'. To improve, the student should aim for more precise academic collocations and avoid colloquialisms. The range is sufficient to convey meaning clearly, but lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('include period of studying', 'in their undergrdauate courses') and subject-verb agreement issues ('inclusion... have more gains'). Punctuation is generally correct, but there are occasional slips. While the errors do not impede communication, the control over complex structures is not consistent enough for a higher band. Increasing the variety of complex sentence forms while reducing minor errors would improve the score.

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

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