Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-13

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 many countries, some people believe that all universities undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement. Although this method has certain drawbacks, I believe that the advantages such as, encouraging students to study in a foreign institutes and allowing them to secure a better job, clearly outweigh the disadvantages.

One of the main advantages of including a period of time for studying abroad is that, students may get encouraged to pursue higher studies from a foreign university. If a student explores the different teaching patterns, methods, and technologies used in foreign universities, they may go to a foreign institute and secure a better future. Additionally, doing a work placement helps students to secure a better job in an industry. If graduates starts preparing for the job placement from universities courses, they may increase the chance of getting selected as they have gain more knowledge and skills to represent in interviews. Thus, this helps them to secure a job at a good position.

Despite these advantages, there are certain drawbacks of this trend. Firstly, this method may distract students from focusing on their academic studies. For example, if a student gives some amount of time for doing work placement or studying abroad, they may become less focused toward academic studies. This can even decrease their academic grades. Secondly, this belief can also create stress on students. This is because some student struggles with their academic studies and addition of these courses may put an addtional pressure on them, which can increase their stress level.

To recapitulate, while inclusion of a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement in undergraduate courses, has certain drawbacks such as, distracting students from focusing on academic studies and create stress on them, its benefits in terms of encouraging students to study abroad and allowing them to get a good job. Therefore, I strongly believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and the conclusion restates this view. You address both sides with relevant points, including improved employment prospects and possible distraction or stress. However, some ideas are more fully explained than others. The work-placement point links experience and skills to better job prospects, but the claim that exposure to foreign teaching methods will encourage students to pursue higher studies abroad needs a clearer explanation of how this benefits all undergraduates. The disadvantages are also asserted rather than explored in depth. Develop each main point with a specific example or a fuller explanation of its impact.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “Additionally,” “Despite these advantages,” and “To recapitulate” makes the direction of the argument easy to follow. However, some linking is mechanical, and the repeated “If…” sentences make the development feel formulaic. In the conclusion, the sentence beginning “while inclusion…” does not connect smoothly to “its benefits,” so the contrast is difficult to follow. Make the relationship between ideas clearer with more varied transitions and ensure each sentence has a complete, logically connected structure. The paragraphing is appropriate, but stronger progression within paragraphs would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “teaching patterns,” “work placement,” “academic grades,” and “stress level.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the meaning is generally clear. However, some word combinations and forms are inaccurate or awkward, such as “foreign institutes,” “secure a better future,” and “represent in interviews.” There are also spelling errors, including “addtional,” and repetition of “secure” and “students” limits flexibility. Aim for more natural academic collocations and check spelling and word forms. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish the benefits of international study from those of workplace experience.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “If a student explores…” and a concession in the opening sentence. Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors occur in agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “graduates starts” should have a plural verb, while “some student struggles” needs plural agreement. The conclusion’s “while inclusion… has certain drawbacks…, its benefits…” is not a complete, well-connected contrast, and the opening phrase “all universities undergraduate courses” needs a possessive form. Review agreement and sentence boundaries, and edit longer sentences to ensure their clauses connect correctly. This would make your argument more accurate without sacrificing complexity.

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