Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-11-14

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Living in a country where you have to speak a foreign language can cause serious social problems, as well as practical problems.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

I strongly agree with the point that living in a foreign country, where their national language is necessary, is a challenging thing. In my point of view, you should learn their language first before going there. The reason is that you will face several social problems this way. You will be less confident while talking to citizens of that country. You will face difficulty in dealing with people in markets, grocery shops and even in working places. You will not be able to understand them and their other stuff. A main reason of facing problems is that you cannot build good relationship and frankness with people living in your neighbourhood and your colleagues. Even if you try to learn their national language , you will not be more fluent and confident with their language. Moreover, you will also face practical problems living in that country. This implies that if you are in foreign country for some research work or any other job-related thing, you will facedifficulty in dealing with your co-workers and your instructors.

I have an example of my friend who recently went to China for some research purpose and she was not fluent to speak chinese language , hence she is facing many problems there which include less social confidence and she is facing difficulty while dealing with her group workers. The reason is that China allows only national language in its boundary , so people face problems while doing work or other projects there.

The conclusion is that a person should learn foreign language before going to any conutry in order to not facing any difficulties.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear from the opening: you strongly agree that living where a foreign language is needed creates difficulties. You address both social problems, such as reduced confidence and difficulty building relationships, and practical problems at work, and the example of your friend in China is relevant. However, the discussion is only partly developed: several points repeat the idea of difficulty communicating, while the practical consequences are not explained in much detail. The claim that China allows only its national language is also too broad and is not supported. To strengthen the response, explain specific consequences and develop the example more carefully, while making clear how each point supports your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure: it introduces your view, discusses social and practical difficulties, gives an example, and concludes. Connectors such as “Moreover,” “Even if,” and “The conclusion is” help signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within the main discussion is limited because several sentences repeat that communication is difficult, and the social and practical points are not clearly separated into focused paragraphs. Some links are also awkward, such as “The reason is that” before the claim about China. Organise the body into distinct paragraphs, each with one main idea, and use clearer references and transitions so the example follows naturally from the point it illustrates.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “social problems,” “practical problems,” “co-workers,” and “research purpose.” However, the range is limited and some expressions are repetitive or imprecise, such as “face difficulty,” “other stuff,” and “good relationship and frankness.” There are also word-choice and spelling problems, including “conutry” and “chinese,” which reduce accuracy and polish. Aim for more precise collocations and avoid repeating the same general terms: for example, specify whether someone struggles to access services, participate in workplace discussions, or form friendships. This would make your meaning clearer and demonstrate more flexible vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a conditional structure in “Even if you try to learn their national language” and a relative clause in the opening. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some passages difficult to follow. Examples include “you will facedifficulty,” “you will not be more fluent,” and “in order to not facing any difficulties.” There are also problems with articles and sentence construction, as in “in foreign country,” and the long sentence beginning “A main reason of facing problems” is difficult to control. Practise accurate verb forms and build longer sentences from clear clauses, checking each sentence for a complete and grammatically consistent structure.

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