Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-19

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 6.5)

Many individuals believe that undergraduates students should be required to spend a period of their degree studying in another country or gaining practical experience through a work placement. Although this approch may create financial and academic difficulties for some students, I believe that its advantages would outweigh its disadvantage because it can improve employability and encourage personal development.

One major advantage of work placements is that they allow students to apply theoretical knowledge in a real professional environment. University courses often provides students with extensive academic knowledge, but this does not necessarily prepare them for the practical challegences of employment. By working for a company, students can develop skills such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving and time management. These experiences can also strengthen their CVs and make the transition from the university to full time employment easier. For example, a computer science student who completes a placement at a software company can gain experience working on real projects and using professional tools, which may give them an advantage when applying for graduate positions.

Studying abroad can provide additional benefits, particularly in terms of indepedence and cultural awarness. Students who live in another country have to adapt to unfamiliar surrondings, communicate with people from different backgrounds and manage their daily responsiblites independently. As a result, they can become more adapatable and confident. Furthermorem exposure to different cultures and educational system can broaden student's perspectives and improve their ability to work in international environments, These qualites are increasingly valuable because many modern workplaces involve collaboration with people form different countries.

However, making overseas study or work placements complusory could create difficulties for some students. The most significants concern is the financial burden. International travel, accommodation, food, insurances and other living expenses can be expensive, and students from low income families may not be able to afforad them.

In addition, some students from low-income families responsibilities can also vary considerably professional experience.

In conclusion, compulsory study abroad or work placements could impose financial and practical difficulties on some undergraduate students. However, the opportunities to gain practical experience, improve employability, develop independence and understand different cultures are likely to provide greater long-term benefits. Therefore, I believe that the advantages would outweigh the disadvantages, particularly if universities provide flexible options and financial 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 making study abroad or work placements compulsory for undergraduates. A clear position is maintained throughout, particularly in the introduction and conclusion, where the writer states that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Key ideas, such as practical skill development and cultural awareness, are well extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the computer science student scenario. Although the final body paragraph becomes slightly fragmented and repetitive regarding low-income families, the task response as a whole is well developed and meets the band 7 requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organised with a clear overall progression. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving smoothly from the introduction to work placements, studying abroad, counterarguments, and finally the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'One major advantage', 'Studying abroad', 'However', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to guide the reader through the argument. Paragraphing is managed appropriately throughout the response. Minor issues are present, such as a slightly abrupt and confusing sentence structure near the end of the fourth paragraph ('In addition, some students from low-income families responsibilities can also vary considerably professional experience'), but overall cohesion remains clear and logical.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, employing appropriate academic terms such as 'employability', 'theoretical knowledge', 'professional environment', and 'intercultural environments'. Less common items are attempted with reasonable success, though there are several spelling and word-choice errors, including 'approch', 'challegences', 'indepedence', 'awarness', 'surrondings', 'responsiblites', 'adapatable', 'Furthermorem', 'educational system' (systems), and 'afforad'. Despite these occasional inaccuracies, the vocabulary is adequate for the task and communication is never impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response features a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, demonstrating control over relative clauses, conditional elements, and participial phrases (e.g., 'Students who live in another country have to adapt...', 'making overseas study or work placements compulsory could create...'). There are frequent error-free sentences, alongside a few noticeable grammatical slips and typos, such as 'undergraduates students' and 'courses often provides'. Punctuation is generally handled well, though a comma splice occurs in the third paragraph ('improve their ability to work in international environments, These qualites...'). The majority of sentences are clear and grammatically sound, placing this comfortably at a band 7 level.

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