Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-08

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, individuals are more interested and involved in studying abroad or doing an internship in other countries during university undergraduate courses and it is suggested that university should include a period of time for these particular activities in courses. The inclusion of these opportunities has multiple significant advantages but some minor disadvantages which can be resolved.

On the one hand, the drawbacks of including a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement are: time management, too much time taken to complete degree, financial burden and poor grades. These are some drawbacks of studying abroad or doing internship during studies. In case of internship, time management will be affected and it will take too much time to complete the degree if these activites would be added and every person cannot afford the financial burden for studying abroad which can lead to depression and stress. These factors can damage their study routine and CGPA.

On the other hand, there are numerous benefits of studying abroad and doing a work placement. Studying abroad gives exposure to learn new things, learn new cultures, create new ideas, multicultural connections. Studying abroad increases communication skills as well as it provides chance to gain experience with the degree. Doing a work placement is very beneficial because it gives practical experience for your field and companies preffer more to the experienced individuals. Internships and exchange programs increases the networking of students with international peers. Students can live independent life.

Therefore, i beleive that for long term career the internship and studying abroad is beneficial, however the issues for financial burden can be solved by achieving scholarships for studying abroad. With proper time management student can gain international industry experience as well as degree which will be very helpfull for future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and give a clear overall view: the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, particularly for students’ future careers. Relevant points include financial pressure, delayed graduation, cultural learning, practical experience and networking. However, some ideas are asserted rather than explained. For example, the claim that placements may lead to “poor grades” is not developed, while the benefits of cultural exposure and independence would be stronger with a specific example or explanation of how they improve students’ prospects. Your conclusion mentions scholarships and time management as solutions, which helps answer the question, but the comparison of advantages and disadvantages could be more explicit. The response meets the task’s length requirement; 12 words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on disadvantages, a paragraph on advantages and a concluding position. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand” and “Therefore” make the main stages easy to follow. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and ideas within paragraphs are not always linked clearly. The disadvantages paragraph lists several concerns before repeating them in the following sentences, while the advantages paragraph moves quickly from cultural learning to communication, work experience and networking. Group related points and explain their connections, using referencing such as “These experiences” where appropriate. This would create smoother progression and reduce repetition without changing your clear paragraph structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use an adequate range for the topic, including “financial burden,” “practical experience,” “multicultural connections” and “international peers.” These phrases help communicate relevant ideas, and the meaning is generally clear. However, some word choices and collocations are awkward or imprecise, such as “more interested and involved in studying abroad,” “increases the networking,” and “live independent life.” There are also spelling errors, including “activites,” “preffer” and “helpfull,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural academic phrasing and check spelling carefully. For example, describe students as gaining “international exposure” or “building professional networks,” rather than using less idiomatic combinations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrastive opening and conditional structures such as “if these activities would be added.” The overall meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence construction. For instance, “Internships and exchange programs increases” should use a plural verb, and “university should include” needs an appropriate article or plural form. The conditional “if these activities would be added” is also not well formed; use “if these activities were added.” Capitalisation and punctuation need attention, including “i beleive” and the long sentence beginning “In case of internship.” More consistent control of these patterns would make your varied sentences clearer.

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