Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06

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)

It is often argued that all undergraduate university courses should include a period of time spend studying abroad or doing a work placement.I believe that tha avantages of this approach out weight its disadvantages. This essay will articulate the bright side and downside of the given statement.

To commence with the predominant benefit, one major advantages of studying abroasd or undertaking a work placement is that students can gain practical experience and develop valuable skill. To be more precise, a work placement enable students to apply their theoretical knowledge in real-life situation and improve skill such as communication,teamwork and problem-solving. For instance, a nursing student who works in a hospital during their degree can learn how to communicate with patients and health care orofessionals and become more confident in the handling practical situation.Consequently, students can become better prepared for their future careers and may have greater employment opportunities after graduation.

However, there is a negative effect of the notion. Firstly, studying abroad or completing work placemnet can create financial and academic pressure for students. To elaborate further on the view, student who study in another country may have to pay for travel, accommodation and daily expenses. In addition spending time away from their regular academic programme may sometimes reduce the time available for their studies. A clear example of this view could be a student from a low-income family who may find it difficult to afford accommodation and travel expenses in a foregin country. As a result, such student may experience financial stress or may be unable to participate in these programmes.

In conclusion, though there are benefits, the dark side cannot be ignored. However,I believe that the merit of this idea surpasses its demerit, as the practical experience,confidence and career skills gained by students are more valuable in the long term.Therefore, the advantages of studying abroad or untaking a work placement outweight the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your response successfully addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of including study abroad or work placements in undergraduate courses, maintaining a clear position throughout. Your ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the nursing student gaining practical experience in a hospital. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalise in parts, and some arguments could be explored with even greater depth to reach a higher level. Overall, you have presented a well-developed argument that directly answers the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

Your essay demonstrates clear logical organisation and progression throughout. You make good use of paragraphing to structure your ideas logically, separating the introduction, the main body paragraph on advantages, the main body paragraph on disadvantages, and the conclusion. You also use cohesive devices fairly flexibly, such as 'To commence with', 'To be more precise', and 'Consequently', although referencing and transitions could be slightly smoother at times to avoid feeling occasionally mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'theoretical knowledge', 'employment opportunities', and 'financial stress'. However, there are some noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'spend' instead of 'spent', 'tha' instead of 'the', 'avantages' instead of 'advantages', 'out weight' instead of 'outweigh', 'abroasd', 'skill' instead of 'skills', 'placemnet', 'student' instead of 'students', 'foregin', and 'untaking'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they highlight the need for more careful proofreading.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You display a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, successfully using structures like relative clauses and conditionals. You also show a partial control of the next band by producing several error-free sentences, particularly in your complex explanations. However, some persistent errors remain, such as pluralisation and agreement issues like 'a work placement enable students' instead of 'enables', and missing articles in phrases like 'handling practical situation'. Punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after periods and commas, also occur, which keeps this criterion firmly in the middle band.

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