Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-12

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)

Living in the foreign can be difficult because it will push us out of our comfort zone and if you will have to speak a foreign local language, then it creates social and practical problems in understanding or communication.

Yes, i agree that it creates problem for someone who lives in a foregin country and does not speak the local language. the first main reason is that one can have difficulty in communication with local people which can also create misunderstanding. Second, is that one can have difficulty in finding a job in the area where someone doesn't speak the language you speak for example, if you are in Switzerland, then you must know french, german or dutch to operate in you daily life because most of the people living in Switzerland speaks on the three language on daily bases and their are less people speaking other language like English.

Other problems like a student who has gone to study abroad without leaning the local langauge will face difficulty in understanding his course. Many other problems like making new friends, visiting doctor or shopping can be difficult.

however, i believe that this problem can be solved by learning the local language. By practising a local language one can be fluent in it. it helps in connecting with new people, finding a job easily, and understanding your course.

In conclusion, I do agree that a new language will make one's life difficulty but by facing the barrier and working on it will help in better understanding and learning the language fluently.

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. You clearly state your position in the introduction and maintain it throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the example regarding Switzerland is slightly inaccurate (Dutch is not an official language there), and the points about visiting a doctor or shopping are mentioned but not fully extended. To reach a higher band, ensure that each supporting point is elaborated with more depth and specific, accurate examples to demonstrate a more thorough understanding of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'the first main reason', 'second', and 'however' to link your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally unclear. For example, the transition between the introduction and the first body paragraph could be smoother. To improve, try to use a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that the relationship between sentences is more fluid, rather than relying on simple list-like transitions.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'barrier', 'fluent', and 'communication'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'living in the foreign' instead of 'living in a foreign country' and 'leaning the local langauge' (spelling error). The range is somewhat limited, and you rely on repetitive structures. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure you are using the correct word forms in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('most of the people... speaks'), article usage ('the foreign'), and punctuation errors. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are noticeable and occur consistently. To improve, pay closer attention to basic grammar rules, such as pluralization and verb conjugation. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures while ensuring they are error-free will help you achieve a higher score in this criterion.

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

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