Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-02

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)

Including a session of studying outside the country or being placed at a work environment by all universities would give rise to advantages as well as disadvantages. Such initiative will help students learn from the change of environment as well teach them go out of their comfort zones. But it will also put additional burden on students who are already struggling with academic or financial pressure. But I maintain that the advantages do indeed outweigh the disadvantages.

Every place with an academic or professional goal has something unique about them. A student from another country will see that the method of education as well as the students attending the university have distinct differences from where he/she came from. Being forced to adapt to these changes will instill a quality of flexibilty in visiting the student.The work environment also helps a student to observe the difference between an academic and professional scene. Being able to experince that environment before graduating can prepare a student for what is to come and help them have a sound judgment while making decisions regarding their career. The other benefit this initiative brings is that it pressures people to get out of their comfort zones. A lot of people struggle with trying new things due to things like social anxiety, fear of the uncertain etc. This initiative can ease the initial dread of taking the jump for such students as it would be normalized by other participating students.

However not all students are in the position to take part in such activities. A lot of students are bearly managing to keep up with their coursework and putting on the burden of visiting an entire new country is quite harsh on them. Some students are also struggling with money. They have to work after their school hours to make ends meet. Having them travel to another country or working unpaid can do great damage to the balance in their life. However, I think these students can be put to different settings by the university authorities. The ones struggling financially can be put to work environments where they are paid. Travelling to other countries can be made optional and so on.

To conclude the advantage of the initiatives are many while the disadvantages are managable. Thus I think advantages outw

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task, presenting a clear position throughout that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant ideas are introduced, such as the benefits of adapting to a new environment and forcing students out of their comfort zones, alongside the acknowledgement of financial and academic burdens. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the discussion on comfort zones is somewhat generalised, and the counter-argument regarding financial strain relies on fairly basic points. To reach a higher level, the ideas would need more extension with deeper elaboration and more sophisticated real-world examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear stance established in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate main ideas, such as the benefits in the second paragraph and the drawbacks in the third. However, cohesion at times feels a bit mechanical or repetitive, particularly with the frequent use of transitional words like 'However' and 'The other benefit'. Referencing is generally functional, but the logical progression between sentences occasionally feels abrupt, preventing the flow from reaching a more seamless and sophisticated level.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'comfort zones', 'social anxiety', and 'sound judgment'. There are, however, some noticeable word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'flexibilty', 'bearly' instead of 'barely', and awkward collocations like 'putting on the burden'. These minor errors do not impede communication, but they reflect a typical restriction found at this level. To improve lexical scoring, the student should focus on precision in word formation and mastery of collocation when using more advanced terminology.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The text employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination with structures like 'Having them travel to another country or working unpaid can do great damage...' There are some errors in grammar and punctuation throughout the essay, such as missing commas in compound clauses ('However not all students'), minor prepositional issues, and a sentence fragment in the conclusion ('Thus I think advantages outw'). Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication. The presence of these persistent mistakes alongside a limited variety of complex structures keeps the grammar at this particular level.

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