Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-01

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)

While adapting to a new environment in a different country, having a language barrier creates more serious additional problems. This actually depends on how the individual takes the situation itself, but i believe that it inevitably adds up communication issues and misunderstanding even if it is a minimal.

Firstly, sometimes having social issues in a foreign country is related to mental and our prespectives on the problems. For example, people are prone to think a small problem as if it were big, especially in an unknown environment. It can be something simple as interacting with a cashier because when we do not know what we are doing, we tends to make it like a huge pressure on ourselves. In other words, something that is normally done in our home might feel like a huge burden.

Secondly, i definitely agree with this statement because even if the problem is small, i think it can cause issues in some way. For example, the most common one would probably be a communication issue such as when commuting to school or work, there might be difficulity in finding the specific station or understanding the timeline. It can also cause isolation, since it is quite difficult to make new friends when there are language barriers and cultural differences.

In conclusion, while these problems can feel as nothing if the individual take them in a positive way even when they are serious issues. I guarantee despite the matter of how big the issue is, there will be social problems in interacting with locals and making new acquantences

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. You acknowledge both social and practical problems, such as communication issues and isolation. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'mental perspectives' is a bit vague and could have been better linked to the core issue of language barriers. While you provide examples like interacting with a cashier or commuting, these could be more deeply explored to reach a higher band. The conclusion is a bit repetitive and does not fully synthesize the points made. To improve, ensure each paragraph provides a more robust explanation of how the language barrier specifically causes the mentioned problems.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and some transitions feel abrupt. For example, the shift from mental perspectives to the cashier example lacks a smooth logical bridge. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as the phrase 'these problems can feel as nothing' in the conclusion, which does not clearly refer back to the specific points discussed earlier. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring clearer pronoun references would enhance the overall cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'language barrier', 'cultural differences', and 'acquaintances'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are occasional inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'take the situation itself' or 'make it like a huge pressure'. There are also minor spelling errors like 'prespectives' and 'difficulity'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to incorporate more precise academic collocations and less common vocabulary to demonstrate a wider range and better control over nuance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('we tends to make it') and awkward phrasing ('if the individual take them'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some issues with sentence boundaries and comma usage. The errors do not typically impede communication, but they are noticeable throughout the text. To improve, focus on mastering subject-verb agreement and refining the use of complex sentence structures to ensure they are error-free.

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