Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-19

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)

Some believe it should be mandatory for all university undergraduate courses to dedicate a time period to either study abroad or do an internship.The biggest advantage of doing so is that it teaches students to applies their theoritical knowledge practically.However, financial issues and terrible work-life balance could be its disadvantages. In my opinion, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Doing a work placement teaches a student how to apply their textbook knowledge into the real world. It also teaches them essential skills such as communication and cooperation. Internships help to understand the nature of their future jobs and to set realistic expectations. For instance, computer science students learn essential concepts regarding programming and algorithms in university but only learn to integrate them on real data on the job.

A semester abroad forces one to stepout their comfort zone and explore different cultures,languages and faces. It gives a fresh insight about the world and is an opportunity to to learn about oneself.

Undoubtedly,study abroad and placement can be financially stressful and hard to manage. While studying abroad is expensive, universities usually provide scholarships and cover accomodatiion costs. Similarly, placment teaches how to juggle between different things such as work and studies. While they are usually unpaid, they build experience and makes a resume look polished, thus making it easier to find jobs upon graduation.

In conclusion, although a possible financial burden, study abroad and work placements encourages students to think out of the box and take on challenges.They equip them with essential skills and experience required to be competitive in today's changing job market.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction—“the advantages outweigh the disadvantages”—and remains consistent in the conclusion. You address both options in the prompt, explaining how placements develop practical skills and how studying abroad can broaden cultural understanding. The computer-science example gives useful support to the placement argument. You also acknowledge financial pressure and balancing work with study, then explain why these drawbacks may be manageable. To strengthen the response further, develop the study-abroad benefit and the disadvantages with more specific explanation or an example; for instance, clarify how cultural exposure improves students’ future study or employment prospects. Some claims, such as universities usually covering accommodation costs, would also benefit from qualification or support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present advantages and disadvantages, and the conclusion restates your position. Paragraphing is appropriate, and linking expressions such as “For instance,” “Similarly,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the argument. The contrast introduced by “However” and “although” also makes your stance easy to track. At times, though, connections between ideas are a little abrupt: the study-abroad point follows the placement example without a clear transition, and the final sentence of the disadvantages paragraph moves quickly from unpaid placements to employability. Use more precise links to show how each point supports your overall comparison, and ensure punctuation spacing makes the progression easier to read.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “theoretical knowledge,” “realistic expectations,” “financially stressful,” and “competitive…job market.” These choices communicate the main ideas clearly, and some topic-specific language helps make the examples relevant. However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors limit precision: “apply…knowledge into” is less natural than “apply…knowledge to,” “stepout their comfort zone” is incorrectly formed, and “accomodatiion” and “placment” are misspelled. Phrases such as “a fresh insight about the world” and “makes a resume look polished” are understandable but could be more precise and formal. Check spelling carefully and learn common academic collocations to make your vocabulary more consistently natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including contrast clauses such as “While studying abroad is expensive…” and the concessive opening “although a possible financial burden.” Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “it teaches students to applies” has an incorrect verb form, while “placement…encourages” and “they build… and makes” show problems with subject–verb agreement. The phrase “an opportunity to to learn” repeats the infinitive marker, and “A semester abroad forces one to stepout” needs a correctly formed verb phrase. Review agreement, verb patterns after “to,” and sentence punctuation. Greater accuracy in these areas would make your varied structures more controlled.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.