Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-04

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)

In contemporary society, many people learn a new language for their career growth. Some people contend that many people live in the foreign country and they have to speak a local language. As result, they experience social problems and practical problems and interfere in the future goals. Therefore, i partially agree with this statement and the reason, relevant examples will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

To begin with, people who do not know how to speak, they can definitely face obstacles. First and foremost, in the foreign country, people are speaking their native language, thus people cannot interact with local people and also they do not get a job and a lot problems related to career opportunity. For instance, many people migrate from India to the UK but they do not know how to speak English, hence they cannot exchange their ideas with native people and may face financial security. In addition, being poor at language it can cause misunderstanding and do not get opportunity for exploring different cultures.

Conversely, living in a country where people have to speak their language is not necessary some people can overcome by different solutions. Firstly, some people use advanced technology. Nowadays mobile has a wide range of application which use in translation. Consequently, people can overcome by the applications. For instance, translation application such as Google translate. It allows to change directly voice into different languages. Moreover, people can learn gradually language and become friendly.

To sum up, although translation application available, people may get difficulty like in career prospective, misunderstanding, and practical problems. Therefore, i believe that person should learn foreign language because it opens many door for long run and boost career growth.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by acknowledging both social and practical problems. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention the inability to interact with locals or secure employment, these points remain at a surface level. The counter-argument regarding translation technology is relevant, but it is not fully integrated into the broader context of 'social problems.' The position is clear, but the supporting arguments could be more thoroughly extended with more specific examples or deeper analysis to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes your stance, but the overall depth of the argument is consistent with a Band 6 level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with,' 'First and foremost,' 'Consequently,' and 'To sum up.' However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel repetitive. For instance, the transition between the discussion of language barriers and the counter-argument about technology could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, but the internal structure of the paragraphs could benefit from more varied linking words to improve the overall progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'career growth,' 'migrate,' and 'translation application.' However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'do not get opportunity for exploring' and 'become friendly' (which is not the best collocation for language acquisition). To improve, you should aim for more precise vocabulary and idiomatic expressions that demonstrate a higher level of control over word choice and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('in the foreign country'), subject-verb agreement ('it can cause misunderstanding and do not get'), and preposition usage. Some sentences are fragmented or lack necessary components, such as 'as result' instead of 'as a result.' While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on sentence construction and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy will be beneficial.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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