Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-04

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)

Living in a foreign country and not having sufficient knowledge to speak their native language can result to daily life problems and social issues as it could get complicated to catch up with the specific language.

Basic tasks get challenging and frustrating as there is no awareness on how to complete a simple work. Such as, anyone could have doubts on how to purchase grocery, open a bank account, or else not knowing how to confess about your health to a doctor. All this require fluent and advance skills in speaking a language.

One of the other main obstacle which interrupts is, facing gaps while communicating in a workplace may lead to misunderstanding and confusion to the local people. This may also result to a formation of a self isolated immigrant bubble.

On the other hand, there is a merit which covers up the stress and anxiety of not knowing a foreign language which is technology that plays a crucial role in translation apps. This helps in translating language and it is much faster.

In conclusion, before moving abroad to a new country, we should learn new languages and recite them in daily conversations to have minimum use of technology as it could also become a disaster if we depend on it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt but is significantly under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of the argument. While you identify both social and practical problems, the ideas are under-developed. For example, the point about 'self-isolated immigrant bubble' is a strong observation but is not expanded upon with sufficient detail or examples. The position is clear, but the brevity prevents a full exploration of the 'to what extent' aspect of the prompt. To improve, you must expand your supporting points with more detailed explanations and specific examples to meet the length requirement and demonstrate a more thorough engagement with the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. Phrases like 'One of the other main obstacle' and 'On the other hand' are used to transition, but the flow between sentences within paragraphs is occasionally disjointed. For instance, the transition from practical problems to the 'immigrant bubble' could be smoother. Additionally, the conclusion is quite abrupt and does not fully synthesize the points made in the body paragraphs. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring clearer logical progression between sentences would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You use some relevant terms like 'self-isolated' and 'anxiety', but there are issues with collocation and word choice, such as 'result to' (should be 'result in') and 'recite them' (which is not the correct term for practicing a language). The vocabulary is somewhat repetitive, and there is a lack of less common lexical items that would demonstrate a more sophisticated command of the language. Focus on learning collocations and using more precise academic vocabulary to express your ideas more effectively.

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. Examples include 'All this require' (subject-verb agreement error: should be 'requires'), 'One of the other main obstacle' (should be 'obstacles'), and 'not knowing how to confess about your health' (awkward phrasing). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction is often clunky. To reach a higher band, you need to demonstrate better control over complex structures and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical errors, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement and preposition usage.

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

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