Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-07

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)

In the 21st century, many people believe that compulsory work experience and overseas study opportunities should be added to the curriculum of bachelor's degree programs at universities. However, despite its drawbacks, I still believe that the current benefits we gain from these practice outweigh the disadvantage.

On the one hand, there are several factors combine to ensure that work experience and overseas studies have a major positive outcomes. The primary reason for this claim is practical knowledge. This can be understood from a student's perspectives as greater number of students are getting opportunity to gain practical knowledge with completing undergraduate program. This means that the experience of working professional will be working as a bridge between practical and theoretical knowledge. To illustrate this, major universities only focus on academics and book knowledge. In contrast, opportunity of employment will give them knowledge about real life use of their field studies. Therefore, it is more practical for students to have mandatory employment requirements in their curriculum.

Moreover, foreign studies encourage independency among the students is a primary merit. To explain this, many students have to manage their own routine by themselves only in a foreign country, which make learner independent and mature. In other words, students have to deal with buying appropriate groceries to prepare a meal and from finding of a house to live to paying the rent for it. These activities make a person more mature and they learn how to use money efficiently. Hence, this practice is very necessary for overall development of a student.

On the other hand, one of the drawbacks is that the lack of job opportunity for students. Specifically, a student perusing bachelors do not have any kind of work experience. Due to this, many employers does not offer a job to the students, and the business owners are mostly looking for an experienced workers. Due to this, students have to struggle to find a required field job. Thus, it is a one of the major demerits of mandatory include of doing a work placement.

To conclude, although there is a shortage of jobs for freshers, the current and future benefits that we receive from them are invaluable. Therefore, i agree that the advantage of these compulsory change in curriculum outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you believe the benefits of compulsory placements and overseas study outweigh the drawbacks. You address both sides, explaining how placements connect academic and practical knowledge and how living abroad can build independence; these are relevant reasons supported with examples such as managing rent and meals. The counterargument about students struggling to find work is also relevant. However, it is less fully explained: the claim that students lack experience sits somewhat awkwardly beside a proposal intended to give them experience, and you do not explore other possible barriers, such as cost or access. The response therefore covers the task, but some ideas need clearer development and more precise support to make the argument consistently convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for benefits and a drawback, and a conclusion that restates your view. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “Moreover,” and “On the other hand” helps readers follow the main stages. Within paragraphs, however, some links feel mechanical or repetitive: “Due to this” appears twice in the drawback paragraph, while “To explain this” and “In other words” introduce closely related explanations. Some references are also unclear, as in “the current benefits we gain from these practice.” To strengthen progression, use fewer formulaic transitions and make the relationship between each claim and its example more explicit. Overall, the organisation is coherent, though cohesion is not always smooth.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “practical knowledge,” “theoretical knowledge,” “curriculum,” and “overall development.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “a bridge between practical and theoretical knowledge.” However, noticeable word-choice, collocation, and word-form problems sometimes make the meaning less natural: “these practice,” “major positive outcomes,” “independency,” and “mandatory include” are examples. Some expressions are also imprecise, including “current and future benefits that we receive from them,” where the reference of “them” is unclear. Build accuracy by learning common word partnerships and checking whether a noun, adjective, or verb form is needed. Your range is sufficient to discuss the topic, but control of vocabulary is not yet consistent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning “although,” “which,” and “as,” and most of the argument remains understandable. However, errors in agreement, articles, plurals, and verb forms recur. For example, “several factors combine” should be “several factors combine to ensure” only if the following construction is revised; “a student … do not have” needs subject–verb agreement, and “many employers does not offer” should use a plural verb. In “which make learner independent,” both agreement and the noun form need correction. Some sentence patterns are also awkwardly assembled, particularly “greater number of students are getting opportunity to gain practical knowledge with completing.” Practise building accurate complex sentences and proofreading agreement and article use; these recurring errors limit grammatical control.

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