Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-29

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)

Nowadays, there are multiple universities that are offering a semester exchange programs and work placements. These inclusions in the undergraduate programs can have both benefits and drawbacks.

There are significant number of advantages of work placements and exchange programs. Firstly, the students are exposed to different cultures and different kind of technologies and educational approaches that make them able to understand there subjects in a much better way. Work placements makes students understand the scope of their field and what different strategies they can use to excel in their field. Most of the universities make work placements mandatory, so going abraod and doing work placements is a really great opportunity. Moreover, exchange programs are also of huge importance as students are getting to know about the curriculum of other countries and have better skill development.

On the other hand, there are also some disadvantages. Most importantly, some countries do not except the work experience from other countries. Some students also face racism and discrimination abroad even from their instructors. Moreover, adjusting to new lifestyle or culture is also really difficult for the internatinal students in start. Students have to manage their education, work and life by themselves and sometimes this make students more prone to stress.

Overall, the advantages of studying abroad or doing work placements outweighs the disadvantages. It can be easily understood there is nothing more significant than getting knowledge and skills. Whenever you have to achieve something, there are a lot of struggles and hardships to face but after achieving your goals you do not even remember your bad days, you just remember your achievements.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and state a clear view in the conclusion: the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant benefits include exposure to other cultures and educational approaches, and a better understanding of career opportunities; you also identify discrimination, adjustment difficulties and stress as drawbacks. This covers the task, but some points are asserted rather than explained. For example, you say students develop skills through exchange programmes without specifying which skills or how they help after graduation. The claim that “there is nothing more significant than getting knowledge and skills” is broad, and the final reflection on hardship does not directly compare the costs and benefits. Develop fewer points with specific examples and explain why the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages and a conclusion. The progression is easy to follow, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “Moreover” and “On the other hand” help readers recognise the shifts between ideas. This meets the lower-band expectations securely and shows some stronger control through logical paragraphing. However, the linking is somewhat formulaic, with several points added in sequence rather than connected through explanation. For instance, the discussion moves from cultural exposure to work placements and then curriculum without showing how these ideas relate. The conclusion also shifts to a general statement about hardship. Use clearer referencing and connect each example to the main argument to make progression more sustained.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “work placements,” “exchange programs,” “curriculum,” “discrimination” and “stress.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “scope of their field” and “educational approaches.” However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “students,” “different” and “really,” and several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors are noticeable. Examples include “a semester exchange programs,” “going abraod,” “do not except the work experience” and “internatinal students.” These do not prevent the overall meaning from being understood, but they reduce precision and fluency. Build a wider set of accurate phrases for academic and professional benefits, and proofread spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple sentences and some longer structures, including a relative clause in “approaches that make them able to understand…” and a contrast introduced by “On the other hand.” The main ideas remain understandable, but there are some recurring errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction. For example, “There are significant number” needs an article, “Work placements makes” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “this make students” should agree with the singular subject. The opening phrase “a semester exchange programs” also has a number mismatch. Some sentences rely on repeated “and” clauses, limiting structural variety. Review agreement and article use, and practise combining ideas with accurate subordinate clauses and varied sentence patterns.

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.