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 an ongoing debate about whether all undergraduate students should spend time studying abroad or doing a work placement. Studying abroad can be expensive and it should depend on whether the student can afford it, while work placement should be mandatory. Overall, I believe that both have more advantages to the students.

Studying in another country can help individuals to experience new learning methods, and stand out their resume. While student exchange programs can enhace their career, it is expensive and unaffordable for many people. There are students, for example, who need to work doing university to meet their basic needs. Even though there are great advantages of exchange programs, for some people it might not be possible because of their financial conditions. For this reason, studying abroad should be treated as optional at univerities.

On the other hand, work placement can help students not only gain hands-on experience in their field, but also it can help students to create network. For example, in Queenstown, hospitality students often do a 2 days work placement at hotels, during the first year of their undergratuate degree, where they can see the routine of a hotel. In the final year, they need to do a three month intership to finalise their course. The time spent with hands-on experience is value for those students, and in many cases, it leads to a job offer after the conclusion of the intership. Therefore, work placement is an essential part of undergraduate couses.

To conclude, both studying abroad and work placement have its value and overall the advantages are great. However, studying abroad can be expensive and it might not be possible to everyone, while work placements and interships can help students to gain experience and it helps build network relationship.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you favour work placements as compulsory but believe studying abroad should remain optional because of cost. You address both parts of the prompt and support your view with relevant points, including the financial barriers some students face and the hospitality placement example in Queenstown. The explanation that placements can lead to job offers also helps show their value. However, the comparison of the overall advantages and disadvantages is not fully developed: the disadvantages of placements are not considered, and the benefits of studying abroad are mentioned only briefly. The conclusion repeats your position but could more directly explain why the benefits of the two options outweigh their drawbacks.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction to separate paragraphs on studying abroad and work placements, followed by a conclusion. This makes the main line of argument easy to follow. You use linking expressions such as “On the other hand,” “For this reason,” and “Therefore” to signal relationships between ideas. This organisation is effective, though some connections feel mechanical, and a few references are unclear. For example, “both have more advantages to the students” does not specify which advantages are being compared, while the final sentence shifts between “work placements” and “internships” without clarifying their relationship. More precise referencing and smoother links between examples and claims would strengthen progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “learning methods,” “hands-on experience,” “exchange programs,” and “financial conditions.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and some topic-specific language helps make the example concrete. There are, however, several inaccurate word choices, collocations, and spelling errors that limit precision: “stand out their resume” is not a natural expression, “create network” needs a more idiomatic form, and “value” is used where an adjective is needed. Spelling slips such as “enhace,” “univerities,” and “intership” also reduce accuracy. Aim to use familiar academic collocations reliably before adding less common expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession with “Even though” and a contrast introduced by “while.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the errors do not generally prevent the reader from following your argument. Some grammatical problems do affect accuracy, however. In “both have its value,” the pronoun does not agree with the plural subject; “it should depend on whether the student can afford it” has an unclear reference; and “students who need to work doing university” has an incorrect grammatical pattern. The sentence beginning “For example, in Queenstown” is also long and would be clearer if divided or more carefully structured. Review agreement, clause construction, and sentence boundaries.

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

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