Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17

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)

Work placement and studying out of country are best for university students who are in their undergraduate programs in terms of better career achievements and wide range of professional growth. However, along with its benefits, there are some disadvantages such as mismanagement of time and extra academic burden. Although, there are certain drwabacks, I strongly believe that its benfits are far greater overall.

Firstly, spending time in studying abroad will introduce new concepts and advance learning to the professional life of the undergraduate students. Job placement is also worthy in gaining field related job as well as achieving career goals. For instance, my uncle during his undergraduation gained job due to advanced concepts and new skills while he was on his period of studying abroad. Moreover, he remained undisturbed against the fear of being unemployed.

On the other hand, doing work placement and studying abroad bring some negative impacts in terms of extra workload. Some students think that their existing academic load is too much so they will not able to bear extra load of work by spending time abroad.However, they also argues that the completion of graduation is more important than doing work placement. For instance, one of my friend refused the offer to go abroad for a specific time period during his graduation. Due to which he completed his graduation first and then searching for a job.

In the conclusion, apart from the disadvantages, I think benefits are more than drawbacks in terms of new learning and gaining skills required for a specific job.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate degrees, and a clear position is stated throughout. The ideas presented, such as gaining professional experience and avoiding unemployment versus facing an increased academic workload, are relevant. However, these ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, relying on brief, anecdotal examples rather than broader elaboration. For instance, the example of the uncle's experience is stated rather than fully explored to demonstrate how studying abroad prevents unemployment. Because the arguments are presented simply and lack deep extension, the response fits best at Band 6.0 according to the task achievement descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing both sides of the issue, and a brief conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal logical relationships, such as 'Firstly', 'On the other hand', and 'In the conclusion'. However, paragraphing and referencing are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the transitional phrase in the third paragraph contains a punctuation error ('abroad.However') and the referencing in 'Due to which he completed' is grammatically awkward and disrupts the flow. Paragraphing could also be improved by separating the discussion of work placements and studying abroad more logically. Consequently, the organization and cohesion align with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related terms such as 'undergraduate programs', 'professional growth', 'academic burden', and 'unemployed'. There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these are occasionally marred by spelling mistakes and awkward word choices, such as 'drwabacks' for drawbacks and 'field related job' instead of 'field-related job' or 'relevant employment'. While there are some lexical inaccuracies and spelling errors throughout the text, they do not impede communication. The overall lexical range and control are consistent with a Band 6.0 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like conditional and concessive clauses in sentences such as 'Although, there are certain drwabacks, I strongly believe that its benfits are far greater overall.' However, the text contains a noticeable number of grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including missing articles ('are best for university students', 'gain job'), incorrect prepositional usage, and punctuation errors. Furthermore, fragments like 'Due to which he completed his graduation first and then searching for a job' show poor control over dependent clauses. Because these errors occur frequently but rarely impede overall communication, the grammar profile fits Band 5.5.

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

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