Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-14

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)

Language is very important and spectacular means of communication with anyone around the world. Most of the people are well fluent in their mother tongue till their teenage era. Meanwhile, they already had friends in thier own hometown where they lived since childhood. Ofcourse, they use to communicate in their mother tongue only. So, it might be possible that problem will arrive to the one who is new in the country and town, who actually does not know the language fluently which used by locals. I totally agree with the point that, it affects someone's social life as well as create practical problems in daily life or in profession as well. Question is why?

Many of the Countries in the world are really peaceful and flexible to the newcomers with heartliest welcome but they never going to compromise with their vibe, they already have in their hometown with their friends, partners etc. and culture which directly connects their native language itself. That's why, even if they are welcoming but the new being definitely needs time to get use to with 'jargons' and 'slangs' with the regular use of their native language itself. Unless, they may end up with serious social problems.

I am not saying that everyone faces problems after relocating to some other country having different foriegn language. Some people are really very adaptive and quickly get into the groups and make friends easily in particular society. Its not about only the social life, apart from this the professional life may also get disturbed with poor adoption of foriegn language which actually a technical and practical problem.

Its all about the patience and observation, I believe the very great solution is to listen and observe more in your early days in some other country. Moreover, speak less is better than speaks like a dumb, gave them a reason to judge you. Many of the countries in the world are creating organizations and campaigns for the foriegners to adapt their nation's language in different areas. Nevertheless, no matter how much supportive and non judgemental people they are, but we need to climb certain level of height. Socially and professionally we must need to adapt the language of place, where we are living.

AI examiner evaluation

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

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The candidate addresses all parts of the task by clearly taking a stance agreeing with the statement that living in a foreign-language country causes social and practical problems. The position is maintained throughout the response. Ideas are introduced and supported, such as discussing social integration, friendship groups, and professional hurdles. However, some arguments lack full extension and suffer from informal phrasing and conversational rhetorical questions like 'Question is why?', which borders on personal commentary rather than academic essay development. Overall, the response meets the criteria for Band 6.0 as it addresses all parts of the prompt with relevant ideas, though some areas remain slightly under-developed or colloquial.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph-by-paragraph structure that moves from introduction to social aspects, counter-considerations, and a concluding resolution. Cohesive devices such as 'Meanwhile', 'Ofcourse', 'That's why', 'Nevertheless', and 'Moreover' are utilised to connect ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or awkward (e.g., 'Unless, they may end up...'). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional shifts in subject reference cause minor disruptions to the flow. This performance aligns with Band 6.0 descriptors for clear logical arrangement and adequate use of cohesive devices.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The candidate attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate to the topic, including terms like 'relocating', 'adaptive', 'campaigns', 'jargons', and 'slangs'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'heartliest welcome', 'get use to', and 'speaks like a dumb, gave them a reason to judge you'. Spelling and word-formation errors also occur, such as 'foriegn' and 'thier'. While the lexical range is adequate for communicating the main points, the frequent inaccuracies place it squarely at Band 5.5, as the vocabulary is sufficient for the task but contains errors that occasionally cause friction for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures (e.g., 'I totally agree with the point that, it affects...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement errors ('problem will arrive', 'many of the countries... are never going to compromise', 'speak less is better than speaks like a dumb'), tense inconsistencies ('they already had friends... where they lived', 'they use to communicate'), and missing articles. These errors occur frequently and affect readability, although they do not entirely impede communication, making Band 5.0 the most accurate descriptor for grammatical accuracy.

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

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