Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-02

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)

The issue about to speak an international language in local country has become widely debated topic in the recent years. Attracting attention from various groups and individuals. Some people think that individuals who speck a foreign language in residential region, international language can leads both major social issues and practical problems, arguing that it has numerous benefits. Other strongly disagree, believing that it can lead to potential drawbacks. In my opinion, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. Throughout this essay, my stance will be discussed in the upcoming paragraphs with valid reasons and appropriate example.

To begin with, there are several reasons why i support this viewpoint. The primary and most significant factor is that, non-native language can create miss-understanding. Language barrier to produce difficulty make friends and communicate with local people. Because of that person faced communication gap and misunderstanding. For example, many students have go in abroad for higher study, as a result they can feel uncomfortable with their language in sometimes. Additionally another contributing reason is that, an unfamiliar language leads unemployment. People can not receive appropriate job according their education because of different language. For example, according to research, in India, an increasing number of companies hire local people due to easily understand their thinking.

On the other hand, proponent argue that sometime second language provides many advantages. First and foremost, people can learn other languages. they can learn native tongue, communicate with local people and overcome their problems.

To sum up, although non-native tongue can give batter opportunities to learning, I firmly believe that foreign language can cause both social problems as well as practical problems such as it creates miss-understanding and decreases job rate.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention social and practical problems, the explanations are brief and rely on generalisations. For instance, the example regarding students in India is not fully integrated or clearly linked to the argument about unemployment. To improve, ensure that each body paragraph provides a more detailed explanation and a more specific, well-developed example to support your claims. The introduction is a bit repetitive, and the counter-argument in the third paragraph is underdeveloped, lacking a clear rebuttal to strengthen your overall stance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'Because of that person faced' and 'Additionally another contributing reason is that' feel forced and lack natural flow. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the transition between ideas is occasionally abrupt. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words more naturally and ensure that each sentence logically follows the previous one, creating a smoother progression of ideas throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of word-choice errors and non-standard collocations, such as 'speck' instead of 'speak', 'miss-understanding' instead of 'misunderstanding', and 'go in abroad'. You rely on basic vocabulary and struggle with accurate word forms. To improve, focus on learning common collocations and expanding your range of topic-specific vocabulary. Proofreading for spelling and ensuring that you use words in their correct grammatical context will also help improve your score.

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 communication. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'international language can leads'), missing articles, and incorrect preposition usage (e.g., 'go in abroad'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma placement. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar limits the score. Focus on mastering basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and the correct use of articles before attempting more complex structures.

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

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