Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-15

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)

Some societal segments argues that work placent or sending students abroad for a ceratin period should be compulsory for all university students. Although there are advantages and disavantages to this idea, I believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

To begin with, there are several disadvantages. It is very expensive to send students abroad and some universities might not afford the expenses. The other point is, some students might also fail to find vacancies for work placement. In Zimbabwe, getting an attachment is a tall order for the majority of students and those undergraduates end up being disadvantaged. Additionally some companies are not paying students who are on attachment. This is causing a lot of suffering among students and some end up dropping out due to lack of resources to use during the period.

However, there are many positives which come with work placement. Many companies were complaining about graduates who do not have any idea about the working environment. Those take more time to adjust. Allowing students to go for attachement help them to apply their content in problem solving. In Zimbabwe, almost all universities are now sending their students for attachment and this has improved the quality of graduates being produced. Furthermore some companies are paying handsome salaries to students on work placement providing them with financial relief.

To conclude, although there are many disadvantages such as financial hindrances, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Work placement helps students to gain experience. Governments should be involved in helping those universities which can not afford. This practise should be compulsory.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction and conclusion: you believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and you address both sides of the question. The discussion is relevant, with practical concerns about university costs, placement availability and unpaid work, balanced against students gaining workplace experience. The Zimbabwe examples also help ground your argument. Some points, however, are less fully developed than others. For instance, you state that placements improve graduate quality but do not explain how this happens beyond applying course content to problem-solving. The case for studying abroad is also largely absent, so the response focuses mainly on work placements. To strengthen the argument, explain the benefits and drawbacks of both options and develop each key claim with a clear consequence or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on disadvantages, a paragraph on advantages and a conclusion. Signposting such as “To begin with,” “However” and “To conclude” makes the direction easy to follow, and the central position remains consistent. Some connections are nevertheless mechanical, and a few references are unclear. For example, “Those take more time to adjust” does not clearly identify whether “those” means graduates or companies, while “The other point is” and “Additionally” list concerns without showing how they relate. The conclusion also introduces government support rather abruptly. For stronger progression, use clearer references and connect each example explicitly to the claim it supports, rather than relying mainly on paragraph-opening transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “work placement,” “working environment,” “graduates,” “financial relief” and “disadvantaged.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “a tall order” and “handsome salaries.” However, spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural word choices are noticeable, including “placent,” “ceratin,” “disavantages” and “attachement.” Some collocations are also awkward: “apply their content in problem solving” and “financial hindrances” do not express the ideas naturally. This limits precision and flexibility, even though the overall meaning is generally understandable. Check spelling carefully and build a wider range of accurate academic collocations for discussing costs, skills and employment outcomes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including the concession in “Although there are advantages and disadvantages…” and the relative clause “universities which can not afford.” Most sentences communicate their meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. In “Some societal segments argues,” the plural subject requires a plural verb; “Allowing students to go for attachement help” also needs subject–verb agreement. The sentence “The other point is, some students…” has faulty punctuation between its clauses, and “some companies are not paying students” would be clearer with a more appropriate tense for a general situation. To improve control, check agreement and clause boundaries, and practise varying sentence structures while keeping each sentence grammatically complete.

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