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)

Globally, immigrants are facing severe problems related to cultural exchange. Living in a country where speaking a foreign language can cause serious societal and practical problems. This essay argues that using a foreign language can cause various problems. Because of social problems like being criticized and practical problems like language barriers.

Speaking a foreign language can cause serious social problems, such as being criticized. When minor number of people speak or act differently in a large group it can offend the larger group, leading to the smaller group getting criticized. For example, according to Bhutan Broadcasting System, Bhutanese students in Australia are often mocked by the native students due to the difference. So speaking a foreign language in a country can lead to severe social problems.

Turning to the practical problems, it can cause language barriers between the immigrants and the native population. When one cannot speak the native language, it leads to losing opportunities in jobs and business. For example, according to the national immigration, one of the biggest problems faced by immigrants was finding a job within a short period of time, because of language barriers; immigrants shy away from many opportunities. So, speaking a foreign language can cause a practical problem.

In conclusion, using a foreign language in one country can leads to serious social problems such as immigrants being criticized by the native population. Furthermore, speaking a foreign language in another country can also cause a language barriers which lead to losing better opportunities in jobs and business.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt by identifying both social and practical problems. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The introduction is repetitive, and the arguments, while relevant, lack depth. For instance, the point about being 'criticized' is a bit vague and could have been expanded with more nuanced sociological context. The conclusion simply restates the body paragraphs without adding any synthesis or final thought. To reach a higher band, you should aim to extend your arguments further, perhaps by discussing how these issues might be mitigated or by providing a more sophisticated analysis of the long-term impact of language barriers on integration.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Turning to', 'For example', and 'In conclusion' to signal shifts in focus. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes mechanical. The sentences within paragraphs are occasionally choppy, and the transition between the introduction and the first body paragraph is abrupt. To improve, try to use a wider range of cohesive devices and ensure that your sentences flow more naturally into one another. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure feels a bit formulaic.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'problems', 'speak', and 'native'. While these are used correctly, they do not demonstrate a sophisticated command of English. There is some repetition of phrases, such as 'speaking a foreign language' and 'serious social problems'. To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to migration, linguistics, or social integration. For example, instead of 'serious problems', you could use 'significant challenges' or 'formidable obstacles'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are recurring grammatical errors. For example, 'When minor number of people' is missing an article ('a minor number'), and 'can leads to' is a subject-verb agreement error. Additionally, the sentence 'Because of social problems like being criticized and practical problems like language barriers' is a sentence fragment. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage to improve your accuracy.

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