Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-27

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)

The statement says that all university undergraduate courses should involve a time period which is spent acquiring education abroad or doing a work placement. In this essay, I will discuss if the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages.

It is really benefical to recieve education for undergraduate courses in foreign countries, as well as, to get employment there. Students recieve a significant impact on their education, work life, as well as, on their overall personality because the foreign countries mostly provide significant facilities in various factors of life. For instance, an individual can experience good exposure of research articles, practical work, and workshops, while studying abroad. Moreover, they can be provided with better housing facalities, higher salaries, and healthy work-environment. A student situated in his local area can shift abroad for his studies, and he can continue acquiring it, followed by him getting possibility to get a well-facalitated job.

On the other hand, there are some disadvantages to this. Firstly, not all learners are wealthy enough to afford to go to foreign land for getting education or work. Thus, some of the students would go abroad, as it would be the requirement of their course, but others would be left behind. If they still choose to go there, it would be at a huge expense. Moreover, the status of students' education and routine can get disturbed, since they would have to change their usual environment, situation, and schedule. It would take time to adapt to new environement or lifestyle. Lastly, there is a risk involved in getting employment abroad, which is that if the worker does not get succeed in it, he would have to return to his hometown with all his necessities and household items. The individual can have financial lose more than economic gain, in this scenario.

Thus, I believe that the advantages of this do not outweigh the disadvantages. In fact, shifting to abroad for this purpose includes a huge risk.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of making study abroad or work placements mandatory for undergraduates, ultimately taking a clear position that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Ideas are presented and supported with examples such as exposure to research articles, financial costs, and potential risks of unsuccessful employment abroad. However, some arguments tend to over-generalise or remain slightly under-developed, particularly regarding the specific long-term academic impacts. The position is maintained throughout the essay, fulfilling the basic requirements for Band 6.0 and approaching aspects of Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay is coherent overall with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate advantages from disadvantages. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'Moreover', 'Firstly', and 'Thus'. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'also' and similar transitional structures. Progression is generally logical, but paragraph transitions could be smoother to achieve a higher band.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'undergraduate', 'employment', and 'financial gain'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'benefical' (beneficial), 'recieve' (receive), 'facalities' (facilities), and 'financial lose' (financial loss). Collocations are also occasionally awkward, such as 'get succeed'. These lexical errors do not impede overall communication, placing the response firmly in the Band 6.0 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at conditional and relative clauses. There are, however, frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly with subject-verb agreement and prepositional use, such as 'shifting to abroad' instead of 'moving abroad' and 'acquiring it, followed by him getting possibility'. Punctuation errors also appear in complex lists. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the core message, their frequency prevents the score from reaching a Band 7.0.

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.