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)

It is argued that all undergraduate courses offering in universities should spent a particular period of time studying in foreign countries or continuing a work placement. I believe that the advantages of this approach would outweigh the disadvantages because it would allow people to learn distinctive skills from different regions and secure better job opportunities.

One of the major benefits is that students will get a chance to learn various types of skills in several countries throughout the world. Universities should provide undergraduate students to study at least one semester in a different country because it may allow them to learn different concepts and acquire contemporary skills by skilled professionals. Moreover, this approach can be proved advantageous for those students who have the dream to pursue their studies abroad in the future. For example, students can have early expoure to the culture and methods of teaching of a country, which may help them to continue postgraduate studies easily in that country.

Another advantage is that pursuing a work placement along the study can be beneficial for students to manage their educational expenses. Some students may belong to mediocre communities, so they may find it difficult to pursue their studies by putting an immense burden on their families. Consequently, it may lead them skipping their studies due to unfavourable circumstances. Doing a job with studies may help students to manage all the expenses related to their education. Furthermore, students can find jobs without facing any difficulties after graduation. For example, many top-notch companies hire experienced and skilled employees, so it can provide graduates with the facility to secure these jobs because of their work experience and practical work they may had done during their studies.

In conclusion, studying abroad for even a short period of time may prove helpful for students, as it allows them to acquire unique and innovative skills from skilled tutors around the world, and early exposure to work with studies can be proved valuable for students by providing them with well-paid jobs because of their experience and working practice during their studies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages, ultimately presenting a clear position that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Main ideas, such as acquiring distinctive skills and managing educational expenses through work placements, are introduced and supported with relevant explanations and examples. For instance, the writer highlights how studying abroad provides early exposure to foreign teaching methods and how work placements help students from mediocre financial backgrounds fund their education. While the ideas are relevant and adequately extended, some arguments could be explored in greater depth to reach higher band levels. Nevertheless, the response clearly fulfills the requirements of the prompt and presents a well-supported argument throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response exhibits a clear overall progression and logical organisation. The text is divided into four distinct paragraphs, with an introduction, two body paragraphs focusing on separate advantages, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Consequently', and 'Furthermore' are used to connect ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is handled appropriately, ensuring that each body paragraph centers on a distinct theme. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and the flow between certain sentences could be smoother to achieve a higher band score. Overall, the essay is coherent and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'contemporary skills', 'top-notch companies', and 'unfavourable circumstances'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'courses offering in universities' instead of 'offered', 'early expoure' with a spelling error, and 'pursuing a work placement along the study'. These lexical slips do not impede communication, but they reflect limitations that prevent the response from achieving a higher band score. With more precise word selection and accurate spelling, the lexical score would improve significantly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text. Examples include 'all undergraduate courses offering in universities should spent', 'provide undergraduate students to study', and 'practical work they may had done'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical inaccuracies persist in verb forms, infinitives, and prepositions. While these errors do not completely obscure meaning, they restrict the response to a band 5.5, as error-free sentences are not in the majority.

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

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