Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-26

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)

Language and society are inextricably linked as chivcken and an egg. Language is verbal expression of culture. Residing in new nation is very difficult who are not familiar with its language which cause multifarious quandaries. I firmly agree with this phenomenon and shall discuss the same in upcoming paragraphs.

To commence with, language barrier create many social problems such as major diffuclty in communication with persons in surroundings. Folks feel lonely because it seems to be diffuclt in making friends with whom they can share their feelings and experiences. For instance, immigrants struggle to talk even with their neighbours which results in social isolation anmd person feel bored.

Additionally, practical problem also create burden for immigrants as finding job will be challenging for them. Moreover, as if there is any paper work which is urgent to being done they cannot even ask for help from residents. However, assuming immigrants would try to communicate with foreigners for advice may result in misinformation may get innaccurate details if both the persons of different regions are not able to understand each other.

On the flip side, these set-backs can be reduced considerably by interacting with local people individuals can experience new things which broaden their horizons. Consequently, person may understand local language and communicate more effectively with the passage of time.

To recapitulate, "every coin has two sides" in the same way this view has also both aspects negative as well as positive. But still in my preception, its optimistic side overshadows its pessimistic one.

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-language environment. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While the social and practical aspects are introduced, the supporting arguments are brief and lack depth. For example, the point about 'paper work' is vague and could have been better illustrated with a concrete example. The conclusion introduces a shift in perspective regarding the 'optimistic side,' which feels slightly disconnected from the main body paragraphs. To improve, ensure each point is fully extended with specific examples or logical consequences to meet the requirements for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'To commence with,' 'Additionally,' and 'To recapitulate.' However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as the opening analogy 'as chivcken and an egg,' which is grammatically awkward and confusing. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be smoother. The progression of ideas is present, but the transition between the problems discussed and the counter-argument in the fourth paragraph is abrupt.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary range is adequate for the task, with some attempts at more sophisticated language like 'inextricably linked,' 'multifarious quandaries,' and 'broaden their horizons.' However, there are several spelling errors ('chivcken,' 'diffuclty,' 'anmd,' 'preception') and some awkward collocations or word choices, such as 'residing in new nation' (missing article) and 'person feel bored.' These errors do not generally impede communication, but they do limit the score. To reach a higher band, focus on accurate spelling and more natural word combinations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('in new nation'), subject-verb agreement issues ('language barrier create'), and awkward phrasing ('as if there is any paper work which is urgent to being done'). While the meaning is usually clear, these persistent errors indicate a lack of control over complex structures. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, particularly article usage and verb agreement, before attempting more complex grammatical forms.

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

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