Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-07

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)

It is undeniable that learning a foreign language for global opportunities becomes a pensive concern in this modern world. In this regard, living in a country where you have to speak a foreign language can present unique challenges, which are both social and practical problems. I agree to a large extent with this notion due to many reasons, which will be outlined in forthcoming fragments with a logical conclusion.

To commence with, foreign languages cause various problems. The prime one is that an inadequate command of the local language severely disrupts daily life and survival. To explain it, they face communication problems and are unable to interact with other people due to different languages. Secondly, professional growth is heavily restricted. To elaborate, competent individuals are frequently forced into underemployed roles beneath their qualifications simply because they lack the linguistic fluency required for corporate or client-facing environments. Moreover, people living in other countries did not interact with others, feel loneliness, which directly boosted their stress level and anxiety, and caused various diseases that affected family financial situations as well.

However, language deficits cause profound emotional and communal friction. To elaborate, on an individual level, the inability to express thoughts, humor, or emotions naturally leads to isolation. However, the adoption of different foreign languages is important for a bright future, and having a chance to indulge in a diverse culture directly leads to their development.

To conclude, relying on a foreign language in daily life creates immense hurdles. It generates immediate practical obstacles in employment and administration, yet according to me, living in a country where you have to speak a foreign language can cause serious social problems as well as practical problems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both social and practical problems. However, the development of ideas is inconsistent. While the paragraph on professional growth and daily survival is relevant, the second body paragraph introduces a contradictory point about the benefits of learning a foreign language, which weakens the overall argument. The position is clear, but the essay lacks depth in exploring the 'social' aspect beyond general statements about isolation. To improve, ensure that every paragraph directly supports your stated position and provides more specific, concrete examples rather than general assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear introduction and conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Secondly', and 'Moreover' are used to signal the progression of ideas. However, the transition between the second and third paragraphs is problematic; the use of 'However' to introduce a point about the benefits of language learning creates a logical disconnect, as it does not support the argument that living in a foreign country causes problems. The flow of ideas is occasionally interrupted by these shifts in focus.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at more sophisticated language such as 'undeniable', 'inadequate command', and 'linguistic fluency'. However, there are instances of awkward word choices and collocations, such as 'pensive concern' (which is misused here) and 'communal friction'. The phrase 'according to me' is informal and should be replaced with more academic phrasing like 'in my view' or 'it is my opinion that'. The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but precision is lacking in several areas.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'people... did not interact' (tense inconsistency) and 'feel loneliness' (missing article or awkward phrasing). Some sentences are slightly clunky, such as 'the adoption of different foreign languages is important for a bright future'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. More attention to subject-verb agreement and article usage would improve the accuracy.

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