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?
Sample Response
It is often argued that every undergraduate degree should require students to spend a period studying abroadspend some time overseas or complete a work placement. Although this policy could create practical difficulties for some students, I believe its educational and career benefitscareer-related benefits would be greater.
The main advantage is that students would gain experience that cannot easily be acquired in the classroomin a lecture room. Those who study abroad are likely to encounter different academic approaches and social values, which can make them more adaptable and independent. For example, a history student living in another country may develop a broader perspectivea less narrow view of events previously studiedevents that have previously been studied only from a national perspective. Similarly, work placements allow undergraduatesplacements allow undergraduates to apply theoretical knowledge in a professional setting. An engineering student who has worked alongside technicians may understand both the limitations of textbook solutions and the importance of communicating clearly with colleagues. Such experiences can also make graduates more attractive to employers, since they demonstrate initiative as well as subject knowledge.
There are, however, several disadvantages. Travel, accommodation and foregonelost earnings may make a period abroadan overseas period unaffordable, particularly for students from low-income families. In addition, compulsory placements are not equally valuable: universities might struggle to find enough suitable positions, and some students could end up doing routine work with little connection to their degree. These problems could increase inequality rather than improve education.
Nevertheless, they can be reduced through careful planning. Universities should provide grants for students who need financial support and approve placements only when they have clear learning objectives and supervision. They could also offer local placements or virtual international projects whenwhere travel is impossible.
In conclusion, mandatory study abroad or work experience would involve costs and organisational challenges, but it would give students broader skills, improvedstronger employability and a more mature understanding of their field. With flexible, well-funded schemes, the advantages would outweigh the disadvantages.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response provides a clear, consistently maintained judgment and develops both the educational benefits and practical drawbacks with specific, relevant examples. Its main limitation is that the mitigating measures are explained more briefly than the principal advantages; the best improvement would be to show more explicitly how each proposed safeguard would prevent inequality or poor-quality placements, producing an even sharper comparative evaluation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position is direct and consistent, while the advantages and disadvantages are relevant, well developed, and supported with specific examples.
Explain more fully how the proposed funding and supervision measures would overcome the identified disadvantages to strengthen the final comparison.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is logically sequenced, clearly paragraphing each stage of the argument and using cohesive links without distracting repetition.
Integrate the short remedies paragraph more closely with the preceding drawbacks by pairing each solution explicitly with its corresponding problem.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is wide, precise, and flexible, including effective academic and professional language used in natural collocations.
Aim for still more exact evaluative wording when comparing the relative weight of the benefits and disadvantages.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are varied and consistently well controlled, and the response is almost entirely free of grammatical error.
Maintain this accuracy while experimenting with slightly more concise clause structures in the most information-dense sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
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?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.