Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-09

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)

In today's era, students require strong skills in their preferred courses rather than relying solely on theoretical knowledge. From my perspective, all the universities should mandatory include a period of time when students get an opportunity to study abroad or get a work placement.

To begin with, book knowledge does not last forever, students require skills necessary for their elected courses to build a successful career. A study abroad program or a work placement would help them gain hands-on experience and utilise what they have learnt in real life experiences. For instance, universities in Australia provide a work integrated learning program called Professional and Community Engagement program where undergraduate students work with a real organization on practical projects.

Furthermore, this creates a way for students to connect their studies with real life projects. Along with that, studying abroad helps students become more confident in handling responsibilities and work with peers belonging to different ethnicities providing a diverse work culture. A work internship helps students provide in depth knowledge about the subjects. Moreover, having work experience on a CV assists undergraduate students gain better opportunities in future. Students develop various problem-solving skills, time management, professionalism and work ethics at a young age.

To conclude, a study abroad programme or a work placement for a particular period of time helps students gain practical experience, bridge the gap between academic knowledge and employment, and develop essential professional skills. Therefore, such opportunities can significantly enhance students’ employability, confidence, independence, and readiness for their future careers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed the prompt well by clearly stating your position in the introduction and maintaining it throughout the essay. You provide relevant arguments regarding professional development, skill acquisition, and employability. However, the task asks whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. While you focus heavily on the advantages, you do not explicitly discuss or acknowledge any potential disadvantages (such as financial costs or academic disruption), which limits the depth of your argument. To reach a higher band, ensure you address all aspects of the prompt, including a brief consideration of the counter-arguments to provide a more balanced perspective.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', 'Along with that', and 'Moreover' to link your ideas. While the progression is generally clear, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The paragraphing is appropriate, and each paragraph has a clear central theme. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the relationship between sentences is always smooth and natural rather than relying on a list-like structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'theoretical knowledge', 'hands-on experience', and 'employability'. There are some minor collocation issues, such as 'universities should mandatory include', which should be 'universities should mandatorily include' or 'make it mandatory for universities to include'. You also repeat certain phrases like 'work placement' and 'study abroad' frequently. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms and ensure that your word choices are grammatically precise to convey your ideas with greater nuance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors. For example, 'all the universities should mandatory include' is incorrect; it should be 'universities should mandatorily include'. Additionally, 'assists undergraduate students gain' should be 'assists undergraduate students in gaining' or 'helps undergraduate students to gain'. There are also minor punctuation and article usage errors throughout. To achieve a higher score, focus on refining your control over complex sentence structures and ensuring subject-verb agreement and correct word forms.

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

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