Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

With the increasing demand of experience for students to gain a good position and a sustainable job, the inclusion of work placement during the undergraduate studies is significant. While some universities, provide this opportunity to their students, many are still on the initial stages. I believe that gaining early experience by doing work placment or spending time abroad during undergraduate studies, improves the chance of getting better employment opportunities.

A student spending a certain semester abroad polishes his skills. It not only gives him exposure to the technical side of his degree but also improves his soft skills. For instance, if a student spends some time abroad in a multicultural environment, he will have a chance to interact with different people, interchange ideas and learn from them. It would improve his communication skills as well his team working capacity. It also makes him adaptable rather than being rigid in a strict environment. Another supporting idea would be that if a person gets a work placement during his studies, he would see the technical aspect of theory that he studied. For example, a biotechnology student studying about molecular techniques gets work placement in a lab, he would gain experience of how these techniques work in real life.

Moreover, it also gives a sense of responsibility to the students fueling their curosities about different aspects of their fields. For instance, if a student just studies books he will only gain what is written in the book whereas, a student who works practically would deal with real life problems.

Admittedly, these courses can present certain drawbacks as distracting students, becoming a reason of lower grades for some students. As students might indulge so much in these placements that they dont care about scoring well in the exams but these flaws can be managed by building a certain timeline and setting of priorities.

In conclusion, the disadvantages are quite manageable and the advantages of adding these courses outweighs every aspect in career growth of students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear: you believe the benefits of overseas study or work placements outweigh the drawbacks, and this view is maintained in the conclusion. You address both sides, supporting the advantages with relevant examples, including a biotechnology student applying molecular techniques in a laboratory and the communication benefits of a multicultural environment. These examples help extend your main points. The discussion is generally relevant, though some claims remain broad: for example, the point that placements build responsibility and curiosity is asserted more than explained, and the disadvantage of lower grades receives only a brief response. To strengthen the argument further, explain more precisely how universities could manage the academic risk and develop the less-supported benefits with specific consequences or examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, paragraphs developing benefits, a paragraph acknowledging a drawback, and a conclusion. The progression from international exposure to practical experience is logical, and signposts such as “For instance,” “Moreover,” and “Admittedly” help readers follow the argument. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent overall arrangement, while some features of stronger progression are present. However, the second and third body paragraphs overlap in their discussion of practical learning, and several sentences rely on repeated “It” or “For instance,” making links feel somewhat mechanical. The reference in “these flaws” is also broad. Group related benefits more distinctly, vary linking methods, and make pronoun references explicit to improve flow and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “multicultural environment,” “technical aspect,” “soft skills,” and “real-life problems.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and attempts at more formal or less common language are evident. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “increasing demand of experience,” “interchange ideas,” and “fueling their curiosities.” Spelling slips such as “placment” and “curosities,” along with “dont,” also reduce accuracy. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit the precision and naturalness of the vocabulary. Focus on common academic collocations and proofread spelling; for example, use “demand for experience” and “exchange ideas.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including conditional clauses (“if a student spends some time abroad”) and a concession (“Admittedly, these courses can present certain drawbacks”). Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical and punctuation errors persist. For example, the opening sentence has an awkward structure, and “It would improve his communication skills as well his team working capacity” is missing “as” before “well.” The sentence beginning “As students might indulge…” is a fragment, while “the advantages … outweighs” has a subject–verb agreement error. Commas also interrupt phrases unnecessarily, as in “While some universities, provide.” Review sentence boundaries, agreement, and punctuation, and check each sentence for a complete main clause.

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