Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-08

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)

Studying abroad for higher education has become a major concern for youngsters. It is often argued that people should go abroad either for semester exchange or for work placement. Although it is costly, I believe students should be encouraged to pursue some part of their education abroad.

On the one hand, the world's population is increasing at an exponential rate and resources are limited to keep pace with it. Not only does it require more funding but also require an effective transportation for travelling. Travelling costs are by far the most obvious expense in this journey, while having enough budget is important in the second place. Governments may be unable to provide scholarships to all student as it would place extreme financial pressure on them. Consequently, students have to bear all their travelling and academic expenditure. However, enforcing these rules could harm mental health and the personal life of the students as not every one wants the same.

Having said that, giving an entirely different exposure to students and employees can not only broaden their horizons but also make them creative. For instance, being impressed by another country's infrastructure and development makes youngsters to introduce the same systems and technologies in their country. Furthermore, relatively different place or different people can give them a chance to develop their interpersonal skills and make them high competitors. In addition, travelling and managing things alone help them to make a better version of themselves. For instance, they become more aware of scams and they better know how to tackle problems and emergencies all by themselves.

In my opinion, although semester exchange and work placement programs require heavy investments and transportation expenses, I believe their benefits on individual's mental health, overall personality grooming and creativity are more than their disadvantages.

All things considered, though travelling costs and financial budgets are considerable drawbacks, their healthier impacts on society and the development of country are increasingly important and outweigh its disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all parts of the prompt, clearly stating your position that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Your ideas are relevant, particularly regarding personal development and global perspective. However, the development of the 'disadvantages' paragraph is somewhat tangential; you focus heavily on global population growth and transportation logistics rather than the specific challenges of mandatory study abroad for students, such as academic disruption or cultural isolation. To reach a higher band, ensure your supporting points remain strictly focused on the implications for the undergraduate student experience. Your conclusion effectively summarizes your stance, maintaining a clear position throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. You use a variety of cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'Having said that,' and 'In addition' to link your paragraphs and sentences. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body, and conclusion. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Additionally, the referencing in the second paragraph could be tighter; the link between global population growth and the specific requirement for students to study abroad is a bit tenuous, which slightly affects the overall coherence of that argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including phrases like 'broaden their horizons,' 'interpersonal skills,' and 'personality grooming.' You attempt to use less common vocabulary, though there are occasional inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'healthier impacts' (a better choice would be 'positive impacts') and 'make them high competitors' (better as 'more competitive'). The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, but it lacks the precision and sophisticated collocation required for higher bands. Expanding your use of academic collocations would strengthen this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'require an effective transportation' (should be 'requires effective transportation') and 'not every one wants' (should be 'not everyone wants'). You also have some issues with subject-verb agreement, such as 'Not only does it require... but also require' (should be 'requires'). While these errors are present, they do not impede communication. To improve, focus on consistent subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles with uncountable nouns.

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

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