Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-31

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)

Every country has its own culture and language to which they are very proud of. \some countries prefer to speak their own language rather than adapting any international language, for instance: English . And living in a country where it is a necessity to speak the foreign language is really an act of effort .

Explaining this , language barrier has always been existed between two communicators from different regions of the world . For reference: a portugese who just speaks portugese will face problems while interacting with a turkish person who just speaks turkish. Living in a country where you have to speak the foreign language can sometimes cause social problems as some people gets offended when anyone is not able to speak their language propely and they find it disrespectful to their culture, sometimes you can also face some practical problems especially while shopping , local business owner barely speak any other language so it is really a headache to get their services.

Adding to this if the documentation of that country is in their native language, you will face many problems in legal things such as visas or immigration. Very few countries keep multi lingual support services so international people can get served .

In conclusion, countries where their native language is dominant than the international language will give you challanges in almost every aspect where communication is invloved. To eliminate this problem you should learn the language to have a local with you all the time to get you through in situations because online translator is not helful everywhere.

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 position is not clearly stated in the introduction; the writer mentions that living in such a country is 'an act of effort' but does not explicitly state the extent of their agreement. While the ideas regarding social friction and bureaucratic hurdles are relevant, they are somewhat under-developed. The conclusion introduces new advice rather than summarizing the main arguments, which limits the overall effectiveness of the task response. To improve, ensure a clear thesis statement is provided in the introduction and that each body paragraph focuses on extending a single, well-supported argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is occasionally disrupted by informal transitions and awkward phrasing. For example, the transition 'Explaining this' is used in a way that does not effectively link the previous sentence to the following point. Cohesive devices are present but often used mechanically or incorrectly, such as 'For reference' and 'Adding to this'. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the progression of ideas within paragraphs could be smoother. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words more naturally and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that guides the reader through the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward word choices or non-standard collocations, such as 'language barrier has always been existed' (should be 'has always existed') and 'legal things' (should be 'legal matters' or 'administrative procedures'). The writer uses basic vocabulary to describe complex social issues. To improve, the student should aim to incorporate more academic collocations and precise terminology related to the topic, such as 'linguistic assimilation', 'bureaucratic obstacles', or 'social integration', while ensuring correct word forms are used.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('some people gets offended'), incorrect verb tenses ('has always been existed'), and punctuation errors, such as the misplaced backslash and unnecessary spaces before punctuation. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. To improve, the student should focus on basic grammatical accuracy, particularly subject-verb agreement and the correct use of passive voice, before attempting more complex sentence structures.

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

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