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)

Undergraduate courses in all the universities should include a period of time spent studying in the foreign countries or doing a work placement. In my opinion advatages of this development will be way more than its disadvantages.

On the one hand, studying abroad or working amidst graduation will help students experience cultures and the fast pacedness of the workplaces that they soon will be a part of. This will help them with adaptation, developing the skills in advance and career aspects. Moreover, knowing perspectives from different parts of the the world can develop creativity in solving problems. For example, a student who went abroad for a semester in exchange program may now have have a different solution to a malfunction in machine then his fellows. Because of the technology he may have across in the university abroad. Furthermore most of the universities already mandate the students to do the internships in order to gain exposure to the industry because of the benefits it offers to the students.

On the other hand, only disadvantages are students may develop so much of interest in the field that they might start ignoring their studies and end up taking a gap year or delaying their degree. One other problem is students who go to universities abroad in semester exchange program may like the programs or culture there so much that they may not want to return to their previous universities.

In conclusion, studying abroad or doing a work placement as a part of graduate studies is the dire need of the modern day. As the technology advances students should be aware of these advancements and be able to apprehend these innovations when they enter industry. Thus, advantages of this program outweigh its disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout, stating that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant ideas are presented, such as gaining industry exposure through work placements and experiencing different cultures through studying abroad. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others, which is characteristic of this level. For instance, the discussion on the disadvantages is rather brief and limited to students getting too distracted or not wanting to return, lacking deeper extension or concrete examples. Furthermore, a small portion of the text includes phrases copied directly from the prompt, which were excluded from the official count. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to extend and support all main ideas equally with well-developed explanations and specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear, logical progression of ideas from introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different sides of the argument, utilizing standard transitional markers such as "On the one hand" and "On the other hand". However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, and referencing is not always clear. For example, phrases like "One other problem is students who go..." lack smoother transitional linking, and the pronoun referencing in sentences like "Because of the technology he may have across in the university abroad" creates slight ambiguity. To improve further, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible variety of cohesive devices while ensuring referencing remains precise throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as "fast pacedness," "malfunction," and "apprehend these innovations." However, there are noticeable word choice, collocation, and word form inaccuracies that occasionally reveal a limited range, such as writing "advatages" instead of advantages, "amidst graduation" instead of during graduation, and "technology he may have across" instead of technology he may have encountered. Spelling errors, though generally not impeding communication, also occur. To progress to a higher band, the writer must expand their lexical repertoire, use less common vocabulary with greater precision, and pay closer attention to natural collocations and correct word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting complex structures to convey opinions and examples. However, there are some errors in grammar and punctuation that appear throughout the text. These include missing or incorrect articles, such as "in the foreign countries," "different parts of the the world," and "in exchange program," as well as minor structural issues like "have have a different solution" and prepositions inside grammatical patterns. Fortunately, these errors rarely impede communication and the meaning remains clear. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to increase the frequency of error-free sentences by exercising better control over articles, subject-verb agreement, and complex clause structures.

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

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