Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18

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)

There is a growing opinion that all undergraduate students in university should engane in exchange programs to study outside their country or participate in work related internships or placements.I believe there are several benefits to the inclusion of such activities in the curriculum.

Students who go abroad for a semester or for a stipulated period of their study will have better orientation about the standards of education and other related activites like research that is taking place in different universities across the globe. Working under foreign professors will help to gain a global perspective about their field of study. It will also help the students to mingle with students from other parts of the world which is an increasingly essential skill required in a world of globalisation. An insight into other cultures can open up our perspectives and help to gain new ideas one can implement back in their own country. Some students prefer to do an internship or work placement which is also beneficiary in skill development related to their subject.The hands-on experience will help in their later coursework as well as for gaining deep knowledge about a particular domain.

On the other side, the addition of such programmes will put increasing pressure on students who may already struggle with the existing syllabus.Additionally,the financial burden on students should not be overlooked as exchange programmes are historically infamous for being expensive. Students who prefer to do work placement may face uncertainity as the hiring cycles in several industries may not fall on a given time period. Many companies are unwilling to hire students because of the depreciating economy.

In conclusion, I think students must spent some time studying aborad or doing a work related activity as part of their course but we must not overlook the problems faced by students in doing so by providing them with additonal support.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including studying abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. The advantages are well-extended with relevant examples such as gaining global perspectives, networking, and practical skill development. The disadvantages are also thoughtfully explored, covering financial burdens, increased academic pressure, and industry hiring uncertainties. However, some arguments could have been slightly more elaborated to reach the highest descriptor bands, particularly regarding how universities might mitigate these challenges. Overall, the task is answered thoroughly and maintains a relevant, coherent stance from the introduction to the conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Introduction, body paragraphs focusing on advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion are distinctly identifiable. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'On the other side,' 'Additionally,' and 'In conclusion.' Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes. However, there are some minor mechanical issues with spacing and punctuation after commas (e.g., 'placements.I believe' and 'Additionally,the'), which slightly disrupts the flow. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional transitional links between sentences could be smoothed out for a more seamless progression.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary suited for an academic discussion, incorporating terms like 'curriculum,' 'stipulated period,' 'globalisation,' 'depreciating economy,' and 'hands-on experience.' There are occasional errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'engane' (instead of engage), 'activites,' 'beneficiary' (instead of beneficial), 'uncertainity,' and 'aborad.' Despite these lapses, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey precise meanings, and the errors do not impede communication. Less common lexical items are attempted with varying degrees of success, aligning well with the Band 6.0 to 6.5 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional or multi-clause sentences such as 'Students who go abroad for a semester or for a stipulated period of their study will have better orientation...' There are some grammatical errors and typographical slips present, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('research that is taking place' vs plural data, though acceptable here; 'students must spent'), spelling/morphology mistakes ('abroad' misspelled as 'aborad', 'additonal' as 'additional'), and missing spaces after punctuation marks. However, these errors rarely impede communication and a fair number of error-free sentences are successfully produced.

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

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