Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-03

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)

I agree with the opinion that all university graduate courses should include a period of time, which is specifically dedicated for studying abroad or doing a work placement. Primary advantages include the exposure to the outer world and work experience, that make a student well placed to get a job more often than not. In my opinion, these benefits outweigh the challenges which are mostly financial and related to networking.

Having a period of time dedicated to studying abroad really helps an undergraduate student to get exposed to different cultures, people and techniques. He learns a lot by discussing with foreign students and teachers about his interested domains. Having to work as an intern really challenges him as he is put under the pressures of corporate. He becomes more pragmatic because he gets to know about the expectations, realities and requirements of the profession that he wants to pursue. These activities often make a child more aware both personally as well as professionally.

To have a student exchange program or companies for placement, the universities need to have enough funding and networking, which are very practical challenges. Not every university or course can afford to have these as part of the curriculum. However if the university can not afford to make this as part of the curriculum, it can certainly encourage children to find internships by their own or make them aware about the requirements and expectations of the real jobs. The government can play a role in making sure that universities which genuinely require funding, get funding for the student exchange program.

Long term benefits like job readiness, personal and professional growth of children outweigh the practical challenges like funding and networking, which universities can look to solve with the help of government or potential investors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout, suggesting that the benefits outweigh the challenges. The ideas are generally relevant, covering cultural exposure, job readiness, and practical financial constraints. However, some ideas are left under-developed. For instance, the discussion on networking challenges is introduced in the introduction but receives very little elaboration in the body paragraphs compared to the funding issue. Furthermore, phrases like 'make a child more aware' generalize slightly loosely when discussing undergraduate students. To reach a higher level, every main idea needs full, balanced extension with more specific supporting arguments rather than brief assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear progression of ideas from the introduction, through distinct body paragraphs focusing on advantages and challenges respectively, to a logical conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct thematic points. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as relying heavily on starting sentences with 'Having a period of time...' or 'To have...'. Referencing is generally clear, but smoother transitional links between sentences and paragraphs would enhance the flow and lift the organizational quality further.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'pragmatic', 'curriculum', and 'potential investors'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'graduate courses' when referring to undergraduates, 'interested domains' instead of areas of interest, and the awkward prepositional phrasing 'by their own' instead of 'on their own'. Spelling is generally accurate, and while these lexical slips do not impede communication, eliminating them and incorporating more precise idiomatic language would elevate the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like relative clauses ('which are very practical challenges') and conditional structures ('However if the university can not afford...'). There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('put under the pressures of corporate' instead of 'corporate pressure') and slight subject-verb or pronoun incongruities ('He learns... about his interested domains'). Nevertheless, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the argument smoothly throughout the text.

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