Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-05

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)

Everyone is travelling in various countries for better education and job opportunities, enhanced lifestyle and facilities. While travelling in other countries languages plays a vital role in communication. To pursue our career in other country we have to speak foreign language which may cause problems. This essay will discuss about the social and practical difficulties that we may face in future days.

Every country has it's own caste, cultures, languages, traditions and distinct ways of living. Traveling to a country which is socially different from us may cause various problems. There will be huge language barrier and we have to learn their language to communicate our thoughts. We may not fit in their culture or may not understand it. There maybe some difficulties in forming relations with the local people. Individual who cannot communicate fluently may feel isolated because they are unable to participate in various activities and programs. This may lead to loneliness, depressions, social anxiety and various problems. Individual may not fit in the society or meet the standard of that society.

Language barriers also create some practical problems in regular life. Everyday activities will be hard to perform like visiting the doctor, travelling in bus, visiting some cafes. In such places individual need to communicate by themselves so it may cause huge problems. For example, if we visit Japan and we are not familiar with their language then it will be the hardest day of our life to survive. There may be a lot of misunderstanding between peoples and us. However, these problems are temporary and can be resolved by taking regular language class, often practicing. In this way, we can be more confident and self-dependent in foreign country.

In conclusion, living abroad and speaking foreign language can cause a lot of social and practical problems in day-to-day life. Nevertheless, this problem has also it's solution and we can overcome it by practicing the language.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both social and practical problems as requested. The position is clear throughout, and the ideas are relevant. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the discussion on social isolation and practical difficulties like visiting a doctor is a bit generic. To reach a higher band, the essay would benefit from more specific, nuanced examples or a deeper exploration of the 'extent' of the agreement. The conclusion is a bit brief and does not fully synthesize the arguments presented. Overall, the task is addressed, but the depth of analysis remains at a functional level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. There is a progression of ideas from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'While', 'However', and 'In conclusion', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. The referencing is generally clear, although some sentences within paragraphs could be better linked to improve the flow. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the social and practical aspects of the prompt, which helps the reader follow the argument easily.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their meaning clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'social anxiety', 'isolated', and 'self-dependent'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of slightly unnatural word choices or minor errors, such as 'visiting in bus' instead of 'taking a bus' or 'regular language class' instead of 'language classes'. The student relies on fairly common vocabulary, and there is little evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions that would demonstrate a more sophisticated command of the language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('in other country', 'in foreign country'), subject-verb agreement ('languages plays'), and possessive forms ('it's' used instead of 'its'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some missing commas in complex sentences. While the errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. The student demonstrates a basic control of grammar, but more consistent accuracy is needed.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.