CD IELTS Prep
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Task 2 · Advantages and disadvantages · Education

Taking a degree in another country

A discuss-both-sides question on studying abroad, where the band 9 answer separates what the student gains from what the student's country pays.

The question

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

An increasing number of students choose to complete their university degree in a foreign country rather than at home. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this trend.

A 250-word discursive essay — the half of the paper that carries two thirds of the marks. This prompt is original, written in the standard format for teaching purposes — it is not taken from any past paper.

What separates the three answers

The 6.5 recycles points that would fit any essay about going abroad; the 7.5 makes them specific to studying; the 9 notices that the advantages and the disadvantages belong to different parties.

The three answers

Band 6.5

264 words (the task asks for at least 250)

The answer works. It addresses the task, the reader follows it, and the meaning survives — but ideas stay general, linking is mechanical, wording repeats, and small errors are visible throughout.

The answer

These days, more and more students are going to the foreign countries for completing their university degree instead of studying in their own country. There are some advantages and also some disadvantages of this trend, and I will discuss both of them in this essay.

Firstly, let me discuss about the advantages.3 The main advantage is that the students can get the better education4, because the universities in the developed countries have the modern facilities and the good teachers. Furthermore, they can improve their English language, which is very useful for their future career. In addition, living in a new country is a good experience for the young people because they can learn about the different cultures1 and they become more independent. Also, a foreign degree looks very good in the CV, so the companies will prefer them.

However, there are some disadvantages also. The biggest disadvantage is the money, because studying abroad is very expensive and not every family can afford it. The tuition fee, the accommodation and the flight tickets cost a lot. Another disadvantage is that many students feel lonely when they are far from their family and friends, and sometimes they get the culture shock5. Also some students do not come back to their home country after the graduation, so their country lose the talented people2.

In conclusion, studying in a foreign country has many advantages such as the better education and the language, but it also has the disadvantages like the high cost and the loneliness. In my opinion, students should consider all these things before taking the decision.

What an examiner notices

  1. 1. Task response

    living in a new country is a good experience for the young people because they can learn about the different cultures

    Nothing in this sentence is about a degree. It would sit unchanged in an essay on gap years or tourism, and the question is about university study specifically.

  2. 2. Task response

    so their country lose the talented people

    The strongest idea available arrives in a subordinate clause and is never explained. Ideas at this band are relevant but left unextended.

  3. 3. Coherence and cohesion

    Firstly, let me discuss about the advantages.

    The sentence announces the paragraph instead of beginning it, and 'Firstly' then has nothing to pair with, since the next paragraph opens with 'However'.

  4. 4. Lexical resource

    The main advantage is that the students can get the better education

    'Advantage' and 'disadvantage' occur seven times between them. With no synonyms available — benefit, drawback, the case for — the essay has to keep naming its own structure.

  5. 5. Grammatical range and accuracy

    sometimes they get the culture shock

    Definite articles are supplied where English uses none, here and in 'after the graduation' and 'taking the decision'. The meaning survives every time, which is what places these errors at band 6 rather than lower.

One honest caveat

Band labels here describe what each piece of writing demonstrates against the four published assessment areas, paraphrased in plain language. They are teaching illustrations produced for this site, not official material, and no sample has been marked by a test provider. Real scripts are marked whole; two answers with the same label can still look quite different from each other, and nothing on this page can promise anyone a particular result.