Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-12

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 today's interconnected world, experience is essential for growth and development. Therefore, critics believe that students should invest their time in work placements or go for a exchange program during their undergraduate. Although, work placement could divert students attention from studies, I concur with the notion that exposure is imperative to foster practical skills and to give students a better understanding of the job market. Hence, its advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

For most companies, experience individuals play an immense role in success of many companies. Therefore, HR (Human Resource) department always look for students with substantial work experience. Hiring or recruting a expert is a much more pragmatic approach for businesses because they offer verstality and usefull skills to the company. On the contrary, individuals with lack of prior experience are futile to many industries because they need formal trainings. Furthermore, for students who plan to pursue masters from a well-known institute, work experience and studying abroad is a salient factor is resumes and motivation letters.

Opponents against this view believe that internships and exchange programs tend to divert students attention from their courses, leading to poor performance, eventually leading to poor grades in assesments and exams. In addition to that, time period of degree is extended for many students who go for exchange program because they have to complete their credit hours of the university, when they come back. For Instance, for many students going to Austria or Germany from Pakistan have to complete an additional semester to make up for differences in credit hours.

In a nutshell, while both viewpoints have their own merits, I firmly believe that internships and work placement are paramount to enhance practical skills and to be better understand real-world conditions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you support including placements or overseas study, and the conclusion restates that these experiences outweigh the drawbacks. You address both sides by discussing practical skills and employability, then noting possible distraction and delayed graduation. These are relevant points, but some are not fully developed: the claim that employers seek experienced graduates is broad, and the link between placements and postgraduate applications is mentioned without an example or explanation. The Austria/Germany example gives the credit-transfer concern useful specificity. To strengthen the response, explain more directly how the benefits apply across different undergraduate courses and weigh them against the time and academic costs, rather than relying mainly on general claims.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph supporting the benefits, a paragraph presenting disadvantages, and a concluding position. The progression is generally easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the contrary,” “Furthermore,” and “In a nutshell” help show relationships between ideas. However, some linking is mechanical or imprecise: “Therefore” appears repeatedly, and “On the contrary” does not clearly introduce the contrast intended in the employment paragraph. The second paragraph also moves from employers’ needs to postgraduate applications without a clear transition. Use more precise referencing and vary the ways you connect claims, explanations, and examples; this would make the argument flow more naturally and consistently.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “interconnected world,” “practical skills,” “job market,” and “credit hours,” and several choices communicate the intended ideas. There is also some effort to use less common language, such as “salient factor” and “pragmatic approach.” However, inaccurate word forms, spelling, and collocations are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause: “recruting,” “verstality,” “usefull,” “assesments,” and “a expert” are examples. Phrases such as “experience individuals” and “futile to many industries” are also not natural in context. Aim for accurate, conventional collocations before reaching for more elaborate vocabulary, and proofread spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession in “Although, work placement could divert…” and a relative clause in “students who plan to pursue masters…”. Most of the argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur in articles, possessives, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “a exchange program” needs an article adjustment, “students attention” needs a possessive form, and “a salient factor is resumes” has an incorrect grammatical relationship. The opening “Although” clause is also punctuated as a separate sentence fragment rather than joined to the main clause. Practise building accurate complex sentences and check articles, possessives, and clause boundaries; this will improve control without limiting your range.

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