Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-05

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)

While university undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement due to its several advantages, it also has a few disadvantages. This essay will discuss both advantages and disadvantages and explain how the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

There are many advantages of including study abroad or a work placement in a semester or any period of time in an undergraduate's course. Students can get exposure in their respective fields. Moreover, they can improve their skills by not only studying in their country, they can experience how students in other countries learn and implement what they study, for instance: there is a university in the USA which has its brances in different countries that allows their undergraduate students to study in different country for each semester. Undergraduate courses should include work placement abroad for their students so that they can practice whatever they are learning in real life, doing this will help them secure jobs easily after graduation as they will get the opportunity to gain experience during their degree. This is a great way to help students around the world to get employed.

While it is very beneficial for the students to study abroad or get a work placement abroad , many students cannot afford going to abroad. The travel expenses and living expenses are too much for an undergraduate student. Moreover, many countries face visa problems which can delay and result in time-wastage.

In conclusion, it many be expensive for undergraduate students to study abroad or do a work placement but its advantages clearly outweight the disadvantages. Universities should make undergraduate students study abroad or doing a work placement as it creates endless opportunities for students after their graduation, resulting a better future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad or doing a work placement, and clearly states an overall position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Note that 17 words copied directly from the prompt were not counted towards the minimum length requirement. However, some ideas remain under-developed. For instance, the discussion on gaining exposure in respective fields and the example of the university in the USA are somewhat general and could have been extended with more specific explanations. To move to a higher band, the writer should ensure that all main ideas are fully elaborated with deeper explanations and more robust supporting examples rather than relying on brief assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing both sides of the argument, and a concluding summary. Progression is generally logical, moving from advantages to disadvantages and finally to a conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, such as the repetitive sentence structures used to link paragraphs and the slightly unclear referencing in phrases like 'doing this' in the second body paragraph. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes. To achieve a higher level of coherence and cohesion, the writer needs to employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure that referencing is always precise and natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'respective fields', 'work placement', and 'endless opportunities'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'afford going to abroad' instead of 'afford to go abroad' and the misuse of 'time-wastage'. Spelling and word-choice errors occur, but they do not seriously impede communication. To reach a higher band, the writer must expand their lexical repertoire and demonstrate greater precision in word choice and collocations, avoiding direct translations or awkward phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and relative clauses. There are some grammar and punctuation errors present, including preposition and article mistakes like 'going to abroad', subject-verb agreement issues in the conclusion such as 'it many be expensive' and 'resulting a better future', and comma splices. Despite these errors, the structures used rarely impede communication. To progress further, the writer should increase the frequency of error-free complex sentences and exercise tighter control over prepositions, articles, and verb patterns to ensure greater grammatical accuracy throughout the text.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.