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)

The number of undergraduate courses have increased in recent times, but the curriculum of the courses have not changed a bit. The traditional undergraduate courses include 4 semesters in a 2 year duration course. These course give intensive focus on studies and different subjects involved in academics. So because of this my personal opinion falls in favour of involving a period of time dedicated to study abroad or doing a work placement in the course.

Integrating the choice of study abroad or work internships in the standard courses would benefit the student in recieving immense work or higher education experiences. This will even solve the unemployment issues to some extent. This can ensure placement of the student in the organization he interned in, before getting a degree. These steps might help students to get an exposure to their dream industry. Getting a chance of study abroad helps students to interact with like minds from different countries. This even helps people in networking. Study abroad provides an exciting opportunity for the student who dream to move abroad for jobs and good standards of living.

But along with the advantages of this move their are various disadvantages involved. To begin with, the most important factor is the fee structure that will rise to incoorporate these facilities in their curriculum. This might be difficult for students coming from a financially less stable background. There are few instances of students, learning with help of educational loans. This might increase the burden on their shoulders. Another factor affecting this move might be the grading system of the entire undergraduate course. This might become difficult for the colleges to grade these choices into final grade card. Along with this there can be issues maintaining academic relations with various internship companies as well as the foreign educational institutes.

But apart from these difficulties, the vast experience the candidate recieves is ranked higher than the disadvantages. This step in my opinion will improve the current unemployent of graduates in the country. So from my point of view, the advantages of involment of a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement in the course, surely will outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you support including overseas study or work placements, and you address both benefits and drawbacks before concluding that the advantages outweigh them. Relevant points include gaining industry experience, building international networks, and the financial burden on students. This covers the task well, but some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, you say placements can “ensure placement” with the host organisation, which is too certain without explaining when this is likely. The grading and institutional-coordination concerns are relevant but receive less development than the benefits. To strengthen the response, explain the conditions or examples behind key claims and weigh the costs more directly against the long-term gains. The 12 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion that restates your view. Sequencing is generally easy to follow, and signposts such as “To begin with” and “But apart from these difficulties” help show the direction of the argument. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical because several sentences begin with “This” or “This might,” and the benefits paragraph moves quickly from employment to networking and migration without showing how the points connect. Some references, such as “these facilities” and “this move,” are broad and could be more precise. Use a wider range of linking methods and make the relationship between each claim and its explanation clearer to create smoother progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to discuss education and employment, including “work placement,” “unemployment,” “internship companies,” and “financially less stable background.” There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “academic relations” and “grading system.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which limits precision: “the curriculum … have not changed a bit,” “ensure placement,” and “the vast experience … is ranked higher” do not express the intended ideas naturally. Spelling errors such as “recieving,” “incoorporate,” and “unemployent” are noticeable. Build a more reliable range of collocations and check spelling; for instance, say that placements may “improve employment prospects” rather than guarantee a job.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning “because,” “as well as,” and “who,” and the main argument remains understandable. Some sentence forms are controlled, such as “This might be difficult for students coming from a financially less stable background.” However, there are recurring errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “The number … have increased” should use a singular verb, and “the curriculum … have not changed” also needs singular agreement. “These course give” and “their are” show further agreement or verb-form problems. The opening sentence beginning “So because of this” is awkwardly constructed. Review subject–verb agreement and article use, then edit sentences for clear, complete structure while retaining your attempts at complex forms.

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