Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-04

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)

All universities provide different kinds of undergraduate programs like engineering, commerce, finance, arts or law. These courses required practical knowledge deeply. It is often argued that all university undergraduate courses should include a period of studying abroad or completing a work placement. While this policy could create some difficulties, I believe that its advantages would be considerably greater, particularly because it would help students develop practical skills and prepare more effectively for their future careers.

On the one hand, Students getting opportunities to study abroad or preparing for placement gives knowledge other than classroom. Academic knowledge is important, but hiring companies also look for communication, teamwork, problem-solving and time-management skills. A work placement gives students an opportunity to apply what they have learned in real situations and understand the expectations of a professional workplace. While talking about studying abroad will give you opportunity to find out different cultures, foods, communication with strangers and learn earning while studying. These skills will add valuable impact on their resumes. they will also gain experience of different people coming from different countries and backgrounds. Such experience and skill will improve students overall confidence, Independent nature, open-minded and their intercultural understanding. For example, An Indian student is going for his bachelor's in Europe. He may develop a better understanding of different approaches to education and working culture, which could be valuable in an increasingly international job market.

On the other hand, Studying abroad or preparing for placement requires a lot of money. Travel, accommodation and living expenses may place a significant financial burden on students, particularly those from low-income families. Moreover, some courses, such as highly specialized degree programmes, may have difficulty finding suitable placements for every student. There is also the possibility that students could fall behind academically if their placement is poorly organized.

In conclusion, although compulsory study-abroad programmes and work placements could create financial and organizational challenges, I believe their benefits are greater. The practical experience, independence and broader understanding that students gain would significantly improve both their personal development and their employment prospects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, presenting a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Note that the 9 words copied from the task prompt were not counted toward the minimum length requirement, though the requirement is fully met by the student's own generated text. The main ideas are relevant and generally well supported, discussing employability benefits alongside financial challenges. However, some areas feel slightly under-developed rather than fully extended; for instance, the discussion on studying abroad touches on diverse cultures, food, and earning while studying in a somewhat listing fashion rather than deep elaboration. To reach the next level, all body paragraph ideas would need consistent, fully-fleshed extension with more precise supporting examples throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct viewpoints, such as the advantages in the second paragraph and the disadvantages in the third. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, using standard markers like 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, some of the referencing and inter-sentence cohesion is occasionally mechanical or slightly faulty, such as the abrupt shift in phrasing: 'While talking about studying abroad will give you opportunity...' This places the writing firmly at the mid-band level, where logical flow is maintained overall, but cohesive control lacks the flexibility and seamlessness required for higher bands.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'intercultural understanding', 'specialized degree programmes', and 'financial burden'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word formation that prevent a higher score. Examples include 'required practical knowledge deeply' instead of 'require in-depth practical knowledge', 'Students getting opportunities' rather than 'Students having opportunities', and 'Independent nature, open-minded' where parallel grammatical forms are mixed. Spelling is generally acceptable, but the lexical slips and awkward phrasing reflect a restricted control of less common vocabulary and stylistically appropriate collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures such as concessive clauses ('While this policy could create...') and conditional or participial ideas. There are several grammar errors in punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and articles. For example, 'These courses required practical knowledge' exhibits a tense error, 'Students getting opportunities... gives knowledge' contains agreement issues, and 'An Indian student is going for his bachelor's' has article and prepositional inconsistencies. Furthermore, capitalization errors occur mid-sentence, such as 'On the one hand, Students getting...'. These errors are frequent enough to show the mix of structures characteristic of the current band, though they rarely impede overall communication of the writer's meaning.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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