Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

Education is an important part in everyone's life. It helps you learn about discipline, sincereity, exposure, and mainly teaches you how to behave like a good human. I totally believe that all university undergraduate courses should include a period of time for students, so that students either spend some time to stuy abroad or do a work placement related to their course. Such setting prepare students to understand how things actually works in real-life based scenarios. There are some disadvantages of such programmes, but advantages definetely outweigh them.

There are lots of benefits of having such programmes which help students to learn about new culture, they can make new connections nationally and internationally, and aware them how their studies can actually being implemented or applied in industries as well. If they spend a period of their overseas, even though small, makes them independent and understand how different countries have different rules. Moreover, due to such settings, they can compet internationally with their fellow colleuges and also understand their competition worlwide. It also change their mindset how things work differently in other countries and if something is really useful they may implement in their country too. The other benefit of such programme they may be able to make new friends as well as learn a new langauge too.

The cons of such programmes are countable copared with pros. One of the disadvantage is related with high budget required for such initiatives. It can be the case that some students can't afford to visit overseas, even for a short-period of time. Hence such programmes limits its usuages and can useful for a limited pool of students and for the rest they won't be able to get any benefit from this, which itself make this a kind of discrimination between the students of the same age group. In case of work placement, I belive that may be helpful if and only if it would be in their own country and at least pay some amount to students in the form of stiphend so at least they can survive by their own.

Overall, I totally agree with the existence of such programmes to study abroad or include a work placemt , and have numerous advantages over disadvantages. In summary, such initatives help us to give exposure, working with real-life based scenario and cultural exchange values to the students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you support including overseas study or work placements, and you state that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. You address both sides, identifying cultural learning, independence and career-related experience as benefits, and affordability and unequal access as drawbacks. The point that placements should be paid is also relevant. This covers the task well, but some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained: for example, the claim that students can “compet internationally” is not connected to a specific outcome, and the proposed solution to cost is not developed. To strengthen the response, explain how these experiences improve employability or learning, and consider practical ways universities could make participation accessible to students with limited funds.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, one on disadvantages, and a concluding summary. The progression from advantages to costs is easy to follow, and signposts such as “Moreover,” “The cons,” and “Overall” help readers navigate the argument. This is a coherent arrangement, though some linking is mechanical and ideas within the benefits paragraph are often listed rather than grouped into a developed sequence. The reference in “such programmes limits its usuages” is also unclear, and the conclusion repeats points without adding a final implication. Group related benefits, use clearer references to the programmes or students, and connect each example explicitly to the main claim.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “work placement,” “cultural exchange,” “independent,” and “discrimination,” and the reader can generally understand your intended meaning. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, word-form and spelling errors make expression noticeably imprecise. Examples include “learn about new culture,” “compet internationally,” “their competition worlwide,” and “stiphend”; “real-life based scenarios” is also an awkward phrase. These issues sometimes make the reader pause, even though the main argument remains understandable. Build a more accurate set of phrases for education and employment, check spelling carefully, and learn words in natural combinations—for instance, “gain practical experience” and “access to placements.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “if something is really useful they may implement in their country too” and a concession beginning “even though small.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction occur across the response. For example, “Such setting prepare students” needs agreement, while “how things actually works” has an incorrect verb form; “they can make new connections … and aware them” also lacks a parallel grammatical structure. Some long sentences combine several ideas without clear control. Practise checking subject–verb agreement and building parallel clauses, then divide sentences when they contain multiple claims. More consistently accurate complex sentences would improve clarity.

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