Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-22

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)

Mandatory requirement of transferring to another country or getting employed while studying an undergraduate programme has its perks along with some consequences. This essay will discuss the exceptional rewards it provides by nurturing a healthy habit at a young age along with its repurcussions.

The benefits of visiting a new nation as a student include learning new cultures which can be implemented as innovation at home where it does not exist. A student who spends time in a foreign land upskills by being introduced to options, system or products which can be launched in his home country. This gives him an upper hand to the natives who have been using or dealing in the same prodcuts or services. For example, a friend of mine visited China for a brief period, he saw the opportunity to import an advanced type of earphones which was new to his own country. He ended up deriving huge sums of profit in this successful endeavour.

Employment during studies can help students realise at an early age whether they are good at a particular field they chose. If a young learner dreams of pursuing a specific profession, and he commences a job during his learning days, he can understand if that is practically suitable for him. If he feels that he has been pursuing the wrong career path, he can reavaluate his choices without wasting his developing years. For example, a student in my university who aspired to be an accountant, started an internship in a firm. He soon realised he had taken the wrong decision. This prompted him to change his specialisation saving him his important years focusing on what actually he might be good at.

In conclusion, these actions provide crucial advantages to a student who can expand his mind in a new country and also understand what actually might be a worthy career for him.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both studying abroad and work placements, formulating a clear stance that acknowledges benefits. The ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the friend importing earphones from China and the university student realizing accounting was not suitable. However, the essay focuses exclusively on the advantages and does not explicitly discuss the disadvantages or weigh whether the advantages outweigh them, which is a key requirement of the prompt ('Do you think the advantages of this would outweigh the disadvantages?'). Consequently, the task is only partially addressed in terms of comparative balance, placing the response firmly in the Band 6 territory.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs discussing distinct points (studying abroad and work placements) and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'For example' and 'In conclusion', though referencing and transitions can occasionally feel slightly mechanical (e.g., 'These actions provide...'). Overall, the logical structure is clear throughout, meeting the expectations for a Band 7 performance in cohesion and logical flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'upskills', 'endeavour', and 'reavaluate' (spelled as reevaluate). While the vocabulary allows the message to be communicated clearly, there are some minor word-choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'prodcuts' and 'repurcussions', alongside slightly unnatural phrasings like 'deriving huge sums of profit'. These errors do not impede communication, matching the descriptors for Band 6 where the range is adequate and attempts at less common vocabulary bring some inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with good control over overall sentence architecture. There are several error-free sentences, such as 'Employment during studies can help students realise at an early age whether they are good at a particular field they chose.' However, a few grammatical and spelling errors persist, including missing articles (e.g., 'gives him an upper hand to the natives') and minor typos like 'repurcussions'. These errors do not impede communication, positioning the writing comfortably at Band 6, where grammatical control is generally sound despite occasional non-systematic slips.

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.