Nowadays many students have the opportunity to study for part or all of their courses in foreign countries. While studying abroad brings many benefits to individual students, it also has a number of disadvantages. Do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
In recent yearsIn the recent years, there has been a vast increase in the number of students going abroad to pursue their studies. While studying abroad appears to be an appealing option for many, it is argued that studying abroad does not come without a number of drawbacks. Regarding this statementApropos of the statement, I agree with itI am in consummate accord with it. One of the advantages of studying abroad is that students can learn to live independentlywill be allowed to learn to live independently as family membersfamily and relatives are far away and will not be available to support themaid and abet them if problems arise. Thus, they will learn to solve problemssettle the problems by themselves while at the same time growgrowing as an independent individual. Furthermore, students studying abroad will be constantly exposed to a second language and, hence, will become proficientwill be constantly exposed to a second language and hence, will be proficient in the language if given enough time. Also, it might be a useful skillserve as a useful ability for prospective careers in their future. However, some disadvantages that stem from studying abroad are not to be overlooked. For instance, without a scholarshipwithout a grant of scholarship, students of less affluent families might deem the living cost and tuition feesschool fee too expensive compared withtoo expensive comparing to studying in one’s local universities. Moreover, students who are not serious about pursuing their studies and are only interested in the the excitement that living abroad can offer themexcitement living abroad can offer them will will have spent their moneyhave put in their money and invested their time unproductivelyineffectively and fruitlessly. To conclude, I believe that studying abroad doesn't come without drawbacks. However, with enough effort put in and serious commitment, it will bring many benefits to individual students.
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response covers both the benefits and disadvantages of studying abroad, with generally understandable reasoning about independence, language learning, cost, and commitment. Its main weakness is that the position does not answer the agree-or-disagree wording directly, while the single-paragraph structure and several over-formal expressions reduce clarity. State a precise position in the introduction and conclusion, then develop each side in separate paragraphs with specific support and natural academic language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The essay addresses both benefits and drawbacks and gives a final view, but the position is not fully aligned with the agree/disagree wording. Development is quite brief, especially for disadvantages, and examples are general.
State clearly whether you agree that studying abroad has disadvantages, then explain whether the benefits outweigh them or not.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response has logical sequencing, but it is written as one paragraph and relies on simple transitions. This reduces clarity even though the ideas are mostly connected.
Use four paragraphs and make the contrast between benefits and disadvantages visually clear.
Lexical Resource
There is some higher-level vocabulary, but several choices are unnatural or over-formal, such as 'Apropos', 'consummate accord', and 'aid and abet'. Word choice sometimes distracts from meaning.
Use accurate academic phrasing over memorised expressions: 'I agree with this view', 'support them', 'solve problems', and 'living abroad'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Sentence control is generally adequate, but long sentences contain clause and preposition errors. Meaning is usually clear, with some awkward patterns around comparison and relative clauses.
Shorten long sentences and check verb patterns after 'learn to', 'serve as', and 'compared with'.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Nowadays many students have the opportunity to study for part or all of their courses in foreign countries. While studying abroad brings many benefits to individual students, it also has a number of disadvantages. Do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.