Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Undergraduate studies are an important phase of study in one's life. One builds his career in this phase. However some people argue that exposure to professional life is an important thing while studying. From my perspective, students should be sent to study abroad or to do a work placement in their relative industry.

The best time to build connections for professional life is undergraduate studies and this can be done nicely if students are placed in industries for internships. This gives them a real world experience and a chance to meet the experts of their field. On the other hand, studying abroad provides a better understanding to students regarding their field. This provides them a lot of exposure and helps them build international connections. These international connections lead to amazing opportunities for instance, a cousin of mine went to london during Llb and made some friends and when he graduated his friends helped him to secure a job there.

Unlike everything else this approach has very few disadvantages. This may lead to a complex undergrduate system but this will result in the better future of students. Studying abroad may be costly for some people but it is worth every penny due to the amount of opportunities it is providing. Internship placements in industry may increase the time period of the undergraduate program but this will provide professional experience to students which is very necessary for job placements.

In conclusion, studying abroad and work placements may seem bad at first sight in terms of cost , time and complexity, however, this results in a better career for students and provides almost everything required for a quick job placement. The initiative of this approach is to provide the necessary exposure to students before they are graduated.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position and discussing both the benefits of studying abroad and work placements alongside their potential drawbacks. However, some ideas remain under-developed or somewhat generalized. For instance, the discussion on the disadvantages touches upon increased costs, time, and system complexity, but these points are dealt with rather superficially without deeper elaboration or specific evidence beyond a personal anecdote about a cousin. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to extend these arguments with more fully developed explanations and robust supporting examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays an overall coherent arrangement with a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points, such as the advantages in the second paragraph and the disadvantages in the third. Nevertheless, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or slightly faulty. For example, transition phrases like 'Unlike everything else' feel a bit unnatural, and referencing is not always completely clear. Improving the flexibility and natural flow of cohesive devices would elevate the organizational quality of the writing.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the writer's meaning. There are attempts to use less common items and subject-specific vocabulary, such as 'professional life', 'internships', and 'work placements'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and spelling, such as the misspelled 'undergrduate' and the lowercase 'london'. While these lexical errors and minor slips do not impede communication, a more precise control of word choice and a wider, more polished range of vocabulary are needed to achieve a higher mark.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as conditional and concessive clauses effectively to link ideas. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles (e.g., 'during Llb' or 'in industry') and minor preposition usage issues, but these errors are infrequent and rarely impede communication. To move up to the next band level, the writer should aim for a higher frequency of error-free complex sentences and maintain tighter control over minor punctuation and article conventions.

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