More and more students are choosing to study at universities in foreign countries. Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?

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Introduction
It is increasingly common for school leavers to enrol at a university thousands of kilometres from home rather than in their own city.
While
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I accept that studying abroad brings loneliness and high costs, I believe that its benefits clearly outweigh its drawbacks because it builds independence and opens doors that a local degree cannot.
Body paragraph 1
Admittedly, the price of
this
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choice is high in every sense. Tuition and rent in Britain or Australia can reach thirty thousand pounds a year, so many families sell land or borrow for a decade to pay it. In Kuwait,
for instance
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, a father took a second mortgage to fund his daughter's engineering course in Manchester, and the family postponed their own house for five years. A second limit of the same path is isolation: a nineteen-year-old far from parents, language and food may struggle with depression during the first winter.
Body paragraph 2
Nevertheless
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, the advantages are far greater over a lifetime. The most important thing is independence. A student who must open a bank account, find a flat and argue with a landlord in a foreign tongue returns home able to run a project or a company, and employers notice
this
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immediately. A Moroccan graduate of a Canadian university,
for example
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, was offered a managerial post in Casablanca within two months,
whereas
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classmates with local degrees waited over a year.
Moreover
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, foreign study creates networks that follow a person for life, and,
consequently
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, trade and research links grow between the two countries. In my view,
therefore
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, the money and the homesickness are an investment with a visible return.
Conclusion
In conclusion, studying overseas is expensive and sometimes lonely, yet it produces graduates who are more capable and better connected. On balance, the advantages are decisive.

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Task response
Your answer is clear and stays on the question. You show both sides, then give a clear view that the good points are stronger. To make it even better, say more about why these good points are not possible, or are less likely, when students stay in their own country.
Task response
Your ideas are well explained: cost, being alone, being able to live alone, and work links. Some examples sound very exact, but they are not shown as real facts. You could use a more general example, or make the link from the example to your main idea more clear.
Coherence and cohesion
The essay has a strong shape: opening, one paragraph on bad points, one on good points, and an ending. Each paragraph has one main job. Keep this clear plan.
Coherence and cohesion
Your link words, such as “Admittedly”, “Nevertheless”, “Moreover”, and “In conclusion”, help the reader follow your view. Do not use too many long links in one sentence. Shorter links can make the flow more natural.
Coherence and cohesion
A few sentences are very long and hold many ideas. For example, the sentence about a student opening a bank account, finding a flat, and dealing with a landlord could be split into two sentences. This would make the main point easier to see.
Task response
You answer the full question and make your view clear from the opening to the ending.
Task response
The main points are useful and fit the topic. The points about cost and homesickness are balanced against life skills and work links.
Coherence and cohesion
The order of ideas is easy to follow, and the ending clearly restates your main view.
Coherence and cohesion
Examples are placed after the main points, so they help explain your ideas rather than stand alone.
Answer the 'Advantages and Disadvantages' topic

IELTS advantages and disadvantages questions normally give you a statement and ask you to comment on the advantages and disadvantages of that statement.

Answer structure for the type of essay

  • Introduction
  • Body paragraph 1 – advantages
  • Body paragraph 2 – disadvantages
  • Conclusion

Examples to start your body paragraph:

  • The main advantage is...
  • The disadvantage of this...
  • The main benefit...
  • Despite these advantages...
  • One possible drawback...
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