Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-10

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)

Residing in a foreign country where you have to speak the native language can be the reason for major social issues. Furthermore, it can cause practical issues as well. Language is the way of expressing yourself and understanding the meanings of others. This essay will elucidate the significance of learning a foreign language in order to survive in a country.

Major social problems are directly linked with the language or your accent. Frequently, individuals disregard the value of seeking foreign language knowledge and, afterwards they have to face the consequences. They try to bury themselves in the sand in lieu of facing the approaching circumstances. In a nutshell, they will lose their panache of speaking like natives and they will face a substantial number of conundrums. A case in point is, if a person moves to China for good without prior knowledge of their culture; then as a result, he will have to face a language barrier issue. He would not be able to get the ideas of other citizens and, even it would be an uphill task for him to survive in the nation. The concept of others would be unfathomable for him. He will face plenty of public crises as well as real life concerns.

However, mastering numerous languages can facilitate us in the real world. We can travel to any country without having deep thoughts regarding language barriers. Without linguistic skills no one can reside in a country more than one or two days. In addition if a person just masters the English language which is the prevalent language all over the world, he would be able to travel in more than twenty countries. He will be confident concerning his accent and communication skills.

From my perspective, studying multiple languages can be advantageous for our career in a way that this skill will open doors of opportunities for us in various fields. It will assist you to expand your information regarding multiple cultures and customs. For instance, an individual can find employment in a multinational company where they require you to master tons of languages in order to speak to foreign customers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both social and practical problems associated with living in a foreign country. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While the first body paragraph attempts to explain the consequences of a language barrier, the second paragraph shifts focus to the benefits of learning languages, which is only tangentially related to the prompt's focus on the problems caused by not speaking the language. The position is clear, but the argument lacks depth in certain areas, such as the specific 'social problems' mentioned in the prompt, which are only briefly touched upon. To improve, ensure that every paragraph directly supports the central thesis regarding the difficulties of living in a foreign country.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'In a nutshell', and 'However' are used to link ideas, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical or forced. For instance, the transition between the discussion of problems and the discussion of the benefits of language learning is a bit abrupt. Referencing is generally clear, but there are instances where the flow of ideas could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall progression of the argument is easy to follow, despite the slight shift in focus in the third paragraph.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary, including some ambitious attempts at less common items like 'elucidate', 'conundrums', 'unfathomable', and 'panache'. However, some of these are used incorrectly or in unnatural collocations. For example, 'bury themselves in the sand' is an idiom that does not quite fit the context of language learning, and 'lose their panache of speaking' is awkward. There are also minor issues with word choice, such as 'get the ideas of other citizens' instead of 'understand the perspectives of others'. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey meaning, but precision is lacking.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'the native language' (when the prompt implies a foreign language), 'in lieu of facing' (used incorrectly), and 'even it would be an uphill task'. Punctuation is generally functional, though there are some awkward comma placements, such as 'In addition if a person...'. While the errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher band score. To improve, the student should focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct usage of complex sentence connectors.

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

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