Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

All undergraduate courses of the universities should integrate studying abroad or intership of work for a certain period of time. Certainly, this facilates students with the understanding the competition globally and the experience of cultural diferences in educational institutions situated in foreign countries. Moreover, internships can open many doors for better job opportunities. Although it can exert extra financial and educational pressure on some students, I believe that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

There is a saying, 'If you are the smartest in your class, then you are in the wrong class'. This indicates that it should be a mandatory action for students to assess the capabilities of other students who can be potential competitors in the future. For instance, studying abroad through a course, for even a short period of time, can develop the sense of competition among students. On addition to that, they may be willing to share their skillsets and cultural values to help each other on becoming a better person. Moreover, a work placement for a given period can develop links between students and working instituitions, which will help students to get their future jobs. For example, Erasmus Mundus scholerships offer students to complete their postgraduate programs while studying in different parts of europe in each semester. This develops a sense in students, which helps them to decide their potential career destination. Therefore, similar approaches should be taken under undergraduate programs.

On the downside, not every student has a passport and financial condition to bear the cost of studying abroad. For instance, this extra financial burden can make them suffocate. Moreover, it can also be suffocating if a student has a work placement while studying other courses. For some students, it can actually be something whichcan test their tolerance level. However, to adjust with highly competitive environment in career, students should experience these extra tasks if they can somehow manage financial aids.

To conclude, between the benefits and drawbacks of including studying abroad or a work placement to courses, the benefits shine the brightest. Therefore, advantages of developing the intercultural values, cooperative mindset and competitive nature outweigh the drawbacks related to the financial and educational limitations.

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 financial and academic pressures. You address both sides and give relevant reasons, including cultural learning, competition and links with employers. These points meet the task well, and the Erasmus example adds some support. However, some reasoning is not fully developed or precisely connected to the proposal. The quotation about being the smartest in class leads to a broad claim about competition, while the example of Erasmus Mundus concerns postgraduate study rather than undergraduate courses. The disadvantages are also treated briefly, with little explanation of how universities might reduce the barriers. Develop each main point with a more direct explanation or a closely matched example.

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. The position is easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “On the downside” and “To conclude” help signal the stages of the argument. This gives the essay coherent progression. At times, however, cohesion feels mechanical because several sentences begin with similar additive links, and some connections between claims are not fully explicit. For example, the move from the quotation to assessing future competitors could be explained more clearly, and “On addition to that” does not form a natural transition. Use a wider range of referencing and linking, and make the relationship between each example and its supporting point explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “cultural differences,” “work placement,” “financial burden,” “intercultural values” and “cooperative mindset.” These choices allow you to discuss both the benefits and drawbacks, and some less common expressions show an effort to be precise. However, several word-choice and collocation errors reduce naturalness, such as “facilates students with the understanding,” “make them suffocate” and “links between students and working institutions.” There are also spelling errors, including “intership,” “diferences” and “scholerships.” These generally do not prevent understanding, but careful proofreading and learning common academic collocations would improve control and precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including concession and conditional structures: “Although it can exert extra financial and educational pressure…” and “if they can somehow manage financial aids.” Most ideas remain understandable, and the essay shows an attempt to vary sentence patterns. Some grammatical errors persist, particularly with articles, prepositions and sentence construction. For example, “All undergraduate courses of the universities” has an awkward noun phrase, while “On addition to that” uses an incorrect preposition. In “can develop the sense of competition,” the article is not natural, and “help each other on becoming” has an incorrect grammatical pattern. Review these structures and check punctuation and spacing so that complex sentences remain 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.