Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12

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)

All universities should allot a period of time spent on studying internationally or doing work placements in their undergraduate courses to prepare students and expose them on how the actual field work looks like. There are disadvantages in doing this, but I believe that advantages outweighs the disadvantages and that will be discussed on this essay.

One of the disadvantages are students may be discouraged to continue their studies once they start studying internationally. Students may prioritise travel instead of actually grinding their courses. Second, doing work placements can take a toll on students especially to those who are working part-time as work placements requires more time and energy than actual classes.

In contrast, exposing students early on the work field benefits them as they can experience the work flow before they can finish their studies. It can actually be a motivation for students to study more and figure out if it is something that they really want to do. As per studying abroad, it helps the students to learn about different culture and teaches them how to become independent. Studying internationally also teaches them a different approach on certain things, for example, education courses have a different approach in Asian countries than Western countries as countries.

Overall, letting the students be exposed in work placement and different cultures can help hone their skills more as I believe that there are certain things than can only be taught through experience and some things cannot be learn inside four walls of the classroom.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, and presents a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, such as mentioning student discouragement and the challenges of balancing part-time jobs with placements as disadvantages, alongside career motivation and cultural awareness as advantages. However, these ideas are somewhat under-developed and lack specific supporting examples or extensions. For instance, the point about Asian versus Western educational approaches is abrupt and lacks detail. Nevertheless, a clear position is maintained throughout, fitting the Band 6 profile well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from introduction to disadvantages, advantages, and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different blocks of thought, such as separating the disadvantages and the counter-arguments for advantages. Cohesive devices are employed, including transition markers like 'One of the disadvantages', 'Second', and 'In contrast'. However, referencing and cohesion can occasionally feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent repetition of 'students'. Overall, the structure is easy to follow and meets the requirements for a Band 6 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'undergraduate courses', 'work placements', 'cultural awareness', and 'independent'. There are some word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'expose them on how the actual field work looks like' (instead of 'expose them to what actual fieldwork looks like') and 'grinding their courses' (which is overly colloquial). Spelling and word formation are generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication, placing this securely in the Band 6 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writing contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses. There are, however, several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('One of the disadvantages are students may be discouraged'), prepositions ('expose them on', 'learn inside four walls'), and incorrect pluralisation/article usage ('advantages outweighs', 'a different culture'). Despite these frequent errors, the meaning remains clear and communication is rarely impeded, which aligns well with the descriptors for Band 5.5 or 6.0, settling appropriately at 6.0.

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.