Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-14

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 recent years, including a period of time for studying abroad or doing a job in undergraduate courses of every university has become a subject of considerable debate. While some people believe that it will be vulnerable for undergraduate students, others argue that, there are some cons in this idea. In my personal perspective, including a time period in university courses will be worth it for students and benefits of this would outweigh the drawbacks.

To begin with the advantages of adding time period either for both, abroad studies or work placement. One major benefit of this will be hands on practical experience by working in real job industry. For example, numerous students spent their time in doing job, this will lead to gaining valuable experience from industry professionals in their relevant fields. Additionally, it might be benenficial for students to get high paying jobs immediately after graduation as compare to fresher who didn't have real workplace idea. Secondly, studying abroad will be a significantly great chance for students as it will be very important for them to expanding their friend circle, exploring new cultures, new vibes along with building important links. As a result, students who are pursuing their degree in business, arts, history and culture relevant subjects. They will get real insights of markets, arts and history by exploring them.

On the other hand, their are certain unignorable drawbacks of this activity include high budget required for studying abroad. Such as Some students are pursuing their degrees on student loan. The idea of studying abroad for certain period of time will be very expensive for those who are financially unstable and struggling in their lives. Besides, doing a job in that period of time doesn't have these sort of cons.

In conclusion, there are multiple benefits of working in real market and studying abroad, but there are some disadvantages for instance, high expenses are required for foreign study. However, in my opinion, pros of job placement and studying abroad would outweigh the cons.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you believe the benefits of placements and overseas study outweigh the drawbacks. You address both sides, giving relevant advantages such as practical experience, improved employment prospects, cultural exposure and professional connections, and a disadvantage involving the cost of studying abroad. These points respond to the question, but they are not developed equally. The work-placement benefits receive examples, while the financial drawback is only briefly explained, and you do not explore possible disadvantages of placements or explain how universities might address unequal access. The sentence about students in business, arts and history also ends without clearly connecting the example to your argument. Develop each main point with a clearer explanation or specific example to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph on advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages and a conclusion. Signposting such as “To begin with,” “On the other hand” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the broad direction of the argument. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. The advantages paragraph begins with the incomplete phrase “To begin with the advantages…” and the sentence starting “As a result” does not form a complete, clear link to the preceding point. The contrast “Besides, doing a job in that period of time doesn't have these sort of cons” is also not fully explained. Use complete topic sentences and make each linking phrase express the precise relationship between ideas; clearer referencing would also help the argument progress smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “practical experience,” “industry professionals,” “student loan” and “financially unstable.” These choices make the main ideas understandable, and you attempt more specific expressions such as “real insights” and “building important links.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “vulnerable for undergraduate students,” “high budget required,” “real job industry” and “as compare to fresher.” There are also spelling and form errors, such as “benenficial.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Aim for standard academic collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully; for example, describe a placement as providing “workplace experience” rather than “real job industry.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex forms, including a concessive opening with “While” and a conditional structure in “it might be beneficial…”. Most of the argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity and control. Examples include “there are some cons” after “others argue that,” the agreement error in “their are,” and the incomplete construction “students who are pursuing their degree… They will get…”. The phrase “for them to expanding” also has an incorrect verb pattern, while “as compare to” shows difficulty forming comparisons. Work on complete sentence boundaries, subject–verb agreement, and verb patterns after prepositions and infinitives. More accurate control of these structures would make your varied sentences easier to follow.

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