Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-29

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 5.0)

Individuals who live in a foreign country where they have to communicate using the country’s native language can be serious social issues, as well as practical issues. From my perspective, I strongly agree with the statement, as communicating with native speakers will be difficult and can put as in trouble with the country’s government.

To begin with, communication is one of the most challenging aspect that people can face abroad, interacting with native speakers will be difficult especially when they cannot understand what we are talking about, not all of us master the other’s languages perfectly and this aspects can put us in serious trouble, a misunderstanding or a conflict with native speakers for example.

Furthermore, it can cause a practical problem, which is the use of the foreign language in very important papers of the country to travel or to buy medicines, or it can be a post in social media. We can use the language in a wrong way, such as writing false information about medicines or in traveling papers. Moreover, those who use social media, can repost wrong things, because they do not understand what the post is talking about.

To conclude, people who live in other countries and they use their languages can be a problem, and specifically for those who do not understand the language. Misusing the language can put people on misunderstanding with foreigners as well as the country’s government.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt but fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which negatively impacts the development of ideas. While you clearly state your position, the arguments regarding 'practical problems' are somewhat vague and repetitive. For example, the mention of 'traveling papers' and 'medicines' is a good start, but the explanation of how these lead to 'serious social problems' is underdeveloped. To improve, you should provide more concrete, real-world examples and ensure each paragraph fully explores the implications of the language barrier rather than simply restating the problem.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and you use basic cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'To conclude'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear. For instance, in the second paragraph, the phrase 'this aspects' is grammatically incorrect and creates a weak link to the previous clause. Additionally, the transition between the social and practical problems could be smoother. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that pronouns and reference words clearly point back to their intended subjects.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'serious problems' and 'wrong things' repeatedly. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'put us in trouble with the country’s government' and 'put people on misunderstanding'. To improve, you should aim to use more sophisticated vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'linguistic barriers', 'misinterpretation', or 'bureaucratic complications'. Expanding your range of synonyms will help you avoid repetition and express your ideas with greater clarity and impact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of reading. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'this aspects can put us'), incorrect pluralization, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'people who live in other countries and they use their languages'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma splices where two independent clauses are joined incorrectly. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like subject-verb agreement and proper article usage.

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

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