Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-04

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)

It is often argued by individuals that all university students should be required to study in another country or complete a work placement as part of their degree. From my perspective, although there are few demerits of this trend, their merits are far greater than their demerits because practical experience and global exposure are extremely vital for their holistic development.

The major advantage of completeing the study or work placement in overseas is that they prepare the children for real life. They give opportunity to learners to perform in the real life what they have learnt. On top of that, studying in abroad offers various benefits to students such as enhance communication skills, widen their horizon and able to distinguis between culture. A notable example of this is that, if any student complete their studies or work placement abroad, he will not only become independent but also learn how to tackle difficult situation in the life.

However, there are few disadvantages of this trend. The prime reason is the cost. As living in abroad is quite expensive and sometimes every family can not afford this cost. In various situation the children who are studying abroad find it hard to manage their overhead expenses. Additionally, when children move to another country for study or work placement, they feel isolated and stressed becuase they are deeply attached to their family.

In conclusion, although students feel lonely and depressed while studying abroad, the benefits it provide the students are more significant than their drawbacks which plays a vital role in their life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you believe the benefits of overseas study or placements outweigh the drawbacks. You address both sides, giving relevant advantages such as practical experience, independence and cultural exposure, and disadvantages such as expense and homesickness. This covers the task, but some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, “widen their horizon” and “learn how to tackle difficult situation” would be more convincing with a specific explanation or example of how these experiences help students later. The disadvantages are also less developed: you mention cost and isolation but do not consider how these might be reduced or affect different students. Develop each main point with a clear consequence or example to make the argument more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion that restates your view. Linking phrases such as “On top of that,” “However,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the argument, and the progression from benefits to drawbacks is logical. This meets the lower-band expectations securely and shows some features of stronger organisation. To improve further, make the links between individual claims more explicit and avoid relying mainly on formulaic transitions. For instance, the sentence listing communication skills, broader horizons and cultural understanding could be followed by an explanation connecting these outcomes to the earlier point about real-life preparation. The reference in “their merits” is also slightly unclear because it follows “students”; use a more precise reference to the proposed requirement or experience.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “practical experience,” “global exposure,” “independent,” “isolated,” and “overhead expenses.” These choices allow you to discuss both educational benefits and personal difficulties, and some less common expressions are attempted. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “completeing the study,” “in overseas,” “distinguis between culture,” and “the benefits it provide.” Spelling errors such as “becuase” and “completeing” also reduce accuracy. Aim for natural academic combinations and check word forms and spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would also help distinguish studying abroad from doing a work placement, rather than treating the two experiences as identical.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concessive opening (“although there are few demerits…”) and conditional structures (“if any student complete…”). The overall meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors occur across the response. Examples include subject–verb agreement in “if any student complete” and “the benefits it provide,” article and number problems in “a difficult situation,” and sentence construction in “offers various benefits … such as enhance communication skills.” There are also errors in prepositions and clause structure, as in “studying in abroad.” Work on matching verbs to their subjects, using infinitives or gerunds consistently after “such as,” and checking articles and singular/plural forms. These corrections would make your varied sentence attempts more controlled.

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

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