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 barrier is a potential problem that could arise while living abroad, including social aspects and practical ones.I agree with this statement because inability to speak a foreign language well might result in less job opportunities and as well as workplace dissatisfaction. It could lead to loneliness as communication is rare and difficult.

First of all, a business would want empolyees who could convey their services or product details properly to customers and difficulty with language could cease that opportunity. Furthermore, workplace bonding is essential for teamwork and group projects with better results. But weak linguistic ability could prevent that from happening which might have a detrimental effect on their career. Not to mention that they might not find a job to start one.

Secondly, living a status life requires basic human interactions which seems impossible in a country where the language is unknown and challenging to learn. This could make a person feel lesser then or alone in the vastness of the nation. The citizens of that country might find it hard to accept an individual with little to no knowlegde of their mother tongue which gradually might take away their comfortness with the city.

However, if someone manages to be fimiliar with the native tongue it becomes really easy for them to live and survive in that country and earn a living as well. As they now know how to interact and communicate for daily necessities.

In conclusion, learning the language of the city or county your are living in is very important, especially as an immigrant there. This eases the life a lot in the long term for work purposes and personal as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position agreeing with the prompt and discussing both social and practical problems associated with speaking a foreign language abroad. Ideas are generally relevant, such as job opportunities and loneliness. However, some arguments are slightly under-developed or border on over-generalisation. For instance, the point about living a 'status life' is a bit unclear due to lexical choice, and the counter-argument in the fourth paragraph is rather brief. Nevertheless, a clear position is maintained throughout the response, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs indicated by transition markers like 'First of all', 'Secondly', and 'However', and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used, though paragraph boundaries and internal flow could be tightened. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Not to mention that they might not find a job to start one' standing as a sentence fragment. Referencing is generally clear, but logical progression between sentences occasionally falters, resulting in a Band 6 level of coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'detrimental effect', 'workplace bonding', and 'linguistic ability'. However, there are notable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices throughout the text, including 'empolyees' (spelling), 'status life' (inappropriate collocation), 'lesser then' (grammatical/lexical slip), 'knowlegde' (spelling), and 'fimiliar' (spelling). Despite these errors, the meaning is generally clear and communication is not severely impeded, placing this performance firmly in Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures (e.g., 'if someone manages to be fimiliar...'). However, there is a mix of error-free sentences and frequent grammatical and punctuation slips. Examples of errors include missing articles ('inability to speak', 'less job opportunities'), punctuation errors like missing spaces after periods (e.g., 'practical ones.I agree'), and prepositional issues ('county your are living in'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band score.

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

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