Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

It is widely argued that bachelors courses should consist a period when students must be given opportunity to study abroad or work in their field. Although it puts financial burden on educational institutions, I widely agree with this view as it provides cultural diversity and greater chances of success. Although careful plannig is needed to benefit from these facilities.

One major benefit is that when students travel abroad to study one semester or year, it provides them opportunity to learn and meet diverse people. Study curriculum is versatile across the globe as no country provides the same qualification. Diverse knowldge can greatly help them sharpen their skillset; hence, enhancing greater chances of become successful.

Secondly, if students are allowed to work in some industry, they acquire the relevent work experience needed to excel in their career. As many corporate companies now demand prior work experience even for entry level roles. Students will learn about professional life and after gaining the relevent expertise required to work, they must be able to perform better and earn handsome salary. For instance, a person who graduates with no experience must has to do un-paid internship for 6 months or a year to get a basic entry level role as compared with an individual who has done work placement as an internship.

Nevertheless, if not properly managed students can lose motivation. Many institutions do not ask students prior to send them in irrelevent companies where they do not learn anything. Relevency of work and course modules must be assessed and discussed with students before sending them to anywhere.

Overall, the benefits of studying one or more semesters abroad and having work placement arranged by institution outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear: you agree that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, and the conclusion restates this view. You address both study abroad and work placements, giving relevant reasons such as cultural exposure, broader knowledge, and gaining experience before entering employment. The example contrasting graduates with and without placements also supports your argument. This is a well-focused response with ideas extended and supported. To strengthen it further, develop the disadvantage more fully: the risk of losing motivation and being placed in an irrelevant company is identified, but its consequences and possible scale are not explained in much detail. Some claims, such as the link between diverse knowledge and career success, would also benefit from a more specific illustration.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs presenting benefits, a paragraph on a disadvantage, and a concluding position. The progression from academic and cultural benefits to employment benefits is logical, and signposts such as “Secondly,” “Nevertheless,” and “Overall” help readers follow the argument. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent arrangement and shows some features of stronger progression. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical, with several paragraphs beginning through explicit sequencing rather than more varied links. The opening also contains a fragment beginning “Although careful planning is needed,” which interrupts the flow. Improve connections between claims and explanations, and use clearer referencing so that each sentence follows naturally from the previous one.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “cultural diversity,” “work experience,” “entry level roles,” and “professional life.” These choices make the main ideas clear, and you attempt some more specific expressions such as “curriculum” and “expertise.” However, several word-choice and collocation problems limit precision: “consist a period” should be “include a period,” “handsome salary” is unnatural in this context, and “relevency” is misspelled. There are also repeated uses of “relevant” and “students,” which make the vocabulary less flexible. Aim to learn common academic collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully. More precise phrasing would make your argument sound more natural without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including conditional phrasing (“if not properly managed”) and subordinate clauses explaining benefits. Most of the meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “it provides them opportunity” needs an article, “chances of become successful” requires a different verb form, and “a person … must has to do” combines incompatible verb forms. The opening also ends with the incomplete sentence “Although careful planning is needed to benefit from these facilities.” Subject–verb agreement and sentence construction need more consistent control. Practise checking each sentence for a complete main clause, correct verb patterns, and articles; this will help you retain your complex ideas while making the writing more accurate.

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