Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Nowadays, many people believes all undergraduate courses should include a time span for a work replacement or studying abroad. I think this change will provide more benefits to the students.

First of all, indroduction of a break during undergraduation for studying a broad, allow students to explore different cultures and traditions of the world. By exploring different socities students will gain more knowledge about other people belief. Consequently, they can easily work in a multicultural firm. For example a student who spent some time studying in United Kingdom, will be able to communicate and work in a multinational organisation.

Second of all, allocation of time for a job during will help the students to learn practical skills and gain some experiences. As a result students will able to secure a job easily after the graduation.This will help in reduction of unemployment. For example, a pharmacist having dispensing experience during his study will easily secure a job in retail setup after the compeletion of his degree.

However, there are some drawbacks associated with it. Some students who work in this time period might get bored by the job. As a result they may decide to change their course. Moreover, students who spent time studying abroad may influnced by the different cultures and teaching methodolgy. Consequently, they quit their course and may persue their career living abroad. Nevertheless, these drawbacks are not sufficient to over look the advantages of having a skill and exploring the culture differences.

In conclusion, although a gap during undergraduation may lead to change in the course and alter student career goals but having a practical skill and being able to work in a multicultural environment is much more beneficial. That's why I believe the advantages of it outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction—“this change will provide more benefits”—and remains consistent in the conclusion. You address both sides and explain relevant advantages: cultural exposure may prepare students for multicultural workplaces, while placements can build practical skills and improve employment prospects. The pharmacist example helps make the second point concrete. You also acknowledge possible drawbacks, including students changing courses or choosing to live abroad, before explaining why you consider them less significant. This fulfils the task well. To strengthen the response further, develop the drawbacks more precisely: explain how a placement might disrupt study or why cultural influence could lead students to leave, rather than relying mainly on predicted outcomes. Some claims, such as reducing unemployment, would also benefit from qualification or support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present advantages, a further paragraph considers disadvantages, and the conclusion restates your judgement. Paragraphing is appropriate, and signposts such as “First of all,” “Moreover,” and “In conclusion” make the sequence easy to follow. Examples are generally placed beside the points they support. However, the repeated formula of introducing a point, giving a result, and then adding an example can make the development somewhat mechanical. Some links between ideas could be more explicit—for instance, clarify how studying abroad might lead someone to leave their course, and connect that drawback directly to the overall comparison. Varying transitions and using clearer references would make the flow more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including “multicultural firm,” “practical skills,” “dispensing experience,” and “unemployment.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “allocation of time” and “teaching methodology.” However, inaccurate word choice, collocation, and spelling are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause: “work replacement” appears to mean “work placement,” “studying a broad” should be “studying abroad,” and “retail setup” is not a natural phrase in this context. Other errors include “socities,” “compeletion,” and “influnced.” Some wording is also imprecise, such as “a time span for a work replacement.” Build accuracy by checking spelling and learning common academic collocations, rather than relying on near-sounding words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including cause-and-effect structures with “Consequently” and “As a result,” and a concession beginning “although.” These structures help express relationships between ideas. However, errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction occur often enough to affect fluency. For example, “many people believes” should be “many people believe,” and “allow students” needs to agree with the singular subject “introduction.” In “students will able to secure a job,” the verb “be” is missing; “may influenced” also needs a correct verb form. Articles and punctuation need attention in phrases such as “after the graduation” and “For example a student.” Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and correctly formed verb.

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