Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-22

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)

There is a dilema among the undergradute students wheather to choose between studying abroad and a work placement as a requirement of the degree. Both the options have some drawbacks but I think the advantages of those options will outweigh the disadvantages.

Choosing any of the option will bring the financial issue. For example, if the students choose to study abroad, it will increase the cost of the university as the university has to pay for visa, transportation, accommodation and living expenses. On the other hand , if the students choose to invest time in gaining hand-on experiences by work placement, it will cause for financial loss for them. For example, the students will start an internship program with different companies. Some companies may pay them though the payment will be minimum or nothing. It will lead to financial stress for them.

Considering the positive side, the students will get some real world experiences that will imporve their analytical, communication and problem-solving skills. Additionally, those skills will help them to prove themselves as a valuable cnadidate in the future job markets. Conversely, studying in the abroad will help the students to enrich their social knowledge and develop cultural expertise. At present, people need to deal with people of different cultures and experiences as we are living in a global village now. In that situation, the outcomes of studying abroad will play an important role as students can easily face the situation with their experiences and understanding.

In conclusion, though both options have financial issues, the gainings from those actions are impactfull and students can develop themselves as an unique individual. The experiences and knowledge from those actions will make them effective in different situations and allow them to keep good role in the spocety ultimately.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you believe the benefits of including either overseas study or a work placement outweigh the costs. You address both options and give relevant reasons, including practical skills, cultural understanding and financial pressure. However, the comparison with the disadvantages is not fully developed: the financial costs are described, but you do not explain why the longer-term benefits outweigh them in a sufficiently specific way. Some claims, such as students becoming valuable candidates or coping with a “global village,” remain general and would be stronger with a concrete example or explanation of how these experiences improve employment prospects. Clarify that the requirement could be fulfilled through either option, then develop the weighing of costs against benefits more explicitly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on costs, a paragraph on benefits, and a conclusion. The progression from disadvantages to advantages is easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the other hand,” “Considering the positive side,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some flexibility in linking ideas. At times, however, the linking is mechanical or the relationship between ideas is unclear. “Conversely” does not accurately signal the shift from work-placement benefits to the benefits of studying abroad, and repeated references to “the students” and “those options/actions” make connections less precise. Use more varied referencing and make each paragraph’s central comparison explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “analytical,” “problem-solving skills,” “cultural expertise,” and “financial stress,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “valuable candidate” and “global village.” However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “dilema,” “imporve,” “cnadidate,” “gainings,” and “impactfull.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “invest time in gaining hand-on experiences” and “keep good role in the society.” These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the argument, but they limit the accuracy and flexibility of the vocabulary. Prioritise correct spelling and learn common collocations for education, employment and personal development.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including conditional and subordinate structures: “if the students choose to study abroad…” and “as we are living in a global village now.” Most ideas remain understandable, and the response shows some ability to connect clauses. However, some grammatical errors recur. For example, “any of the option” needs a plural form, “it will cause for financial loss” has an incorrect construction, and “studying in the abroad” uses an unnecessary article. There are also issues with articles and agreement in “as an unique individual,” while punctuation spacing is inconsistent in “On the other hand ,”. Review articles, singular/plural agreement and verb patterns, then proofread sentence by sentence to improve accuracy while retaining your complex structures.

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