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 contemporary society, a significant discourse revolves around the increasing trend of practical learning of subjects in universities. There is an ongoing debate that all undergraduate courses in university must include a specific period of time for students to either study overseas or do a job. A specific period of time while studying abroad or doing a job provides experience and skills which is crucial for career, although students may face linguistic issues or continous hardwork at job. I believe that students are far better off while abroad or doing an internships, despite the challenges they will enevitably face.

First of all, one of the major benefits of studying abroad or doing an internship is the gaining of vital experience. When students do work at a workplace or study abroad, they get exposure to different environment where they may face linguistic and communication challenges. Students must have to let comfort zone and work under stressful conditions. This provides experience, which help students to get a well-paid job. For instance, many employers at Starbucks look for experience on the resumes of candidates. Moreover, students get a chance to learn practical aspects of their courses. This helps them to critical thinking skills, analytical skills and teamwork.

Despite these benfits, it still holds a drawback of facing language barrier while being abroad. Students may feel outsider and face the discrimination, which may disturb some students mentaly. For instance, many Asian students face discirmination at Belgium universities, where they have to speak Dutuch language.

In conclusion, it is considered that there must be a specific period of time for all university undergraduate course to spent at studying in a foreign country or doing a work at workplace. In my opinion, the advantages are of learning skills and experience far outweigh the demerits.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both the benefits and drawbacks and state a clear view: the advantages of gaining skills and experience outweigh the challenges. Relevant support includes the example of employers valuing experience and the language and discrimination difficulties some students may face abroad. However, the discussion is uneven: the benefits receive several points, while the disadvantage is mainly described as a language barrier and possible discrimination, with little explanation of how these affect students or why they are outweighed. The claim about practical learning improving critical thinking, analysis and teamwork is also asserted rather than illustrated. Develop each main point with a clearer explanation or a specific example, and make the comparison between the two sides more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction to benefits, a drawback and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps the reader follow the main stages, and signposts such as “First of all,” “Moreover,” and “In conclusion” make the organisation visible. Within paragraphs, however, some links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “This provides experience” does not clearly distinguish the effect of leaving one’s comfort zone from the earlier mention of communication challenges. The shift from studying abroad to workplace experience is also not always signalled, and the conclusion largely repeats the introduction. Use clearer references to connect each explanation to its point, and organise the benefits and drawback so that each paragraph develops one central idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “linguistic and communication challenges,” “comfort zone,” “analytical skills,” and “discrimination.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and you attempt some more formal phrasing. However, inaccurate word choice, collocation and spelling are noticeable: “practical learning of subjects,” “a specific period of time,” “the gaining of vital experience,” and “continuous hardwork” are awkward or imprecise in context. There are also misspellings such as “enevitably,” “benfits,” “discirmination,” and “Dutuch.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and control. Prefer natural collocations such as “gain practical experience” and proofread carefully for spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession in “although students may face…” and a relative clause in “which may disturb…”. The overall meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “experience and skills which is crucial” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “Students must have to let comfort zone” has an incorrect verb construction and missing article. In “This helps them to critical thinking skills,” the verb pattern is incomplete. There are also issues with articles, plurals and sentence construction in “all university undergraduate course” and “to spent at studying.” Review agreement, verb patterns and article use, then check that each sentence has a complete, correctly formed clause.

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