Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-11
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)
Every university should add a time period for studying abroad or doing internships in their undergraduate courses. Including this in universities will have both pros and cons as It would be great for students but this would also cost students time of studying or mastering any skill.
The students who had industry experience, connections and international exposure has been more successful. Both have been very useful for students to open their perspective to new domains and having real experience gives them the confidence. For instance students who have visited any foreign univeristy gained the early benefit of understanding the pressure of handling a whole new different environment and india there are already many top university they do have industry connection which help to student get internships and kickstart their careers. The advantages of having these experiences are really helpful for any students careers.
On the other hand, the students might end up loosing their academic knowledge or the time they would have spent on mastering or studying a particular skill. Many students have deep interest in research works which heavily requires academic knowledge or advance skills to dive into and in india this is the major problem because most of the brilliant minds either go abroad for higher studies or start their job even when if they had interest in learning and accquiring more skills. As a result of which innovation and research industries lack behind.
In conclusion, Advantages of studying abroad and doing internships are more beneficial but it should be an option not a mandate.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
You address both sides of the question and give a clear final view: these experiences are beneficial, but should be optional rather than compulsory. The discussion of industry experience, international exposure and confidence is relevant, as is the concern that placements could take time away from academic study. However, the advantages are more fully explained than the disadvantages, and some claims need clearer support. For example, the point about students leaving India for work or further study is not clearly connected to whether undergraduate placements should be required. To strengthen the response, explain more directly how a placement might affect research-focused students, and support broad claims with a specific example. Your position is clear, but its reasoning could be developed more evenly.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response has a coherent overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph presenting benefits, a paragraph discussing drawbacks, and a conclusion. The contrast marker “On the other hand” helps signal the shift, while “For instance” introduces an example. The main progression is understandable, but some links between ideas are unclear. In the benefits paragraph, the move from international exposure to Indian universities’ industry connections happens abruptly, and “Both” does not clearly identify the two things it refers to. The research discussion also combines several points without showing their relationship explicitly. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example directly to the claim it supports; this would make the progression more consistently logical and the referencing less ambiguous.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “international exposure,” “industry experience,” “academic knowledge,” and “innovation.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and you attempt some less common expressions. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “open their perspective,” “kickstart their careers,” and “innovation and research industries lack behind.” Spelling errors, including “univeristy,” “loosing,” and “acquiring,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural academic phrasing and check spelling carefully. For example, “broaden their perspectives” and “fall behind in innovation and research” would express your intended meanings more precisely. Greater control of collocation would make the vocabulary more flexible and convincing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional structure (“which heavily requires academic knowledge”) and a contrast between benefits and drawbacks. The overall meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity and control. For example, “The students who had … has been more successful” has inconsistent tense and subject–verb agreement, while “many top university they do have” lacks a clear grammatical connection between clauses. There are also issues with articles, plurals and sentence boundaries, as in “a whole new different environment” and the long sentence beginning “For instance students…”. Work on agreement, clause structure and punctuation, and divide long sentences where needed. More consistently accurate complex sentences would strengthen the response.
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