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)

Universities should prioritize undergraduate courses that include a period of time that students may spend either studying abroad or doing a work placement. The advantages of these courses clearly outweigh the disadvantages, as the students will benefit from these courses.

The students who go abroad to study will gain experience through their interactions with people. Many of the students will learn a new language to communicate with locals, or their courses might require them to learn it. On the other hand, students who choose a work placement will gain experience in the work field. Which is often required in the job market. The students who learn a new language abroad will also be favored due to being bilingual. For instance, in Pakistan, many big firms hire people who know Chinese at a higher post.

The students who study abroad or do professional jobs at work placement learn how to navigate through life earlier than other people. It makes you responsible for yourself. Many students who study abroad work odd jobs to support themselves, whereas people who neither go abroad to study nor work at a placement do not get the confidence and the urgency to be responsible in life. In Pakistan, many students spend their higher education period getting supported by their family. It creates a comfort zone for these students, which becomes a disadvantage for them in the long run. However, the students who study abroad and work on a placement gain an advantage over them as they learn responsibility.

In conclusion, higher education institutions should focus on including a period of time studying abroad or working in a professional placement, so students can gain both practical experience for the job market and the skills needed to navigate through life with ease.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the opening: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and the conclusion restates this view. You address both study abroad and work placements, supporting your case with language learning, employment prospects, and greater independence. The Pakistan example about firms hiring Chinese speakers helps make one point concrete. This meets the task well, and some ideas are developed with relevant explanation. However, the comparison with students who stay at home is broad, and the disadvantages of requiring every undergraduate to participate—such as cost, access, or disruption to study—are not considered. Developing that counterargument and explaining why the benefits outweigh it would make the response more fully balanced and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present benefits, and a conclusion summarises your position. Ideas generally progress from practical experience to personal responsibility, and linking phrases such as “On the other hand,” “For instance,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. Cohesion is sometimes mechanical, however, and repeated references to “the students” make the prose less fluid. The sentence fragment “Which is often required in the job market” also interrupts the connection between ideas. Try combining closely related points and using clearer referencing, while ensuring each paragraph develops one central claim in a logical sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “bilingual,” “work placement,” “job market,” “comfort zone,” and “navigate through life.” These choices communicate the main ideas clearly, and the example involving Chinese-language skills is relevant. Some wording is repetitive or imprecise: “gain experience” appears in similar contexts, “professional jobs at work placement” is awkward, and “higher post” is not a natural way to describe a senior position. “Courses that include a period of time that students may spend” is also unnecessarily wordy. Aim for more precise collocations and varied phrasing, such as “gain industry experience” or “secure a senior role,” while keeping your meaning direct.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses with “as,” “whereas,” and “which,” and most of the meaning remains clear. There are some grammatical and punctuation errors, but they rarely prevent understanding. The clearest issue is the fragment “Which is often required in the job market,” which should be joined to the preceding sentence. In “The students who study abroad and work on a placement gain an advantage,” the wording also makes it unclear whether students do both activities or choose one. The shift from “students” to “you” in “It makes you responsible” weakens consistency. Practise checking sentence boundaries, pronoun reference, and parallel structures to improve control.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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