Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-16
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 abroad can create severe social as well as practical challenges if your native language is different. I extremely agree with the fact as it create hindrances for the individuals to interact with the natives and to perform daily chores.
Living in a foreign country without learning the native language of that region is very challenging as it can effect the daily tasks. It became difficult to interact with the people as you are unable to understand them and neither they can understand what you are talking about. For instance, if you went for a grocery shopping and want to know where the flour section is, it will be difficult to communicate with anyone there. Therefore, it can effect you social life leaving you alone in a foregin land.
Similarly, not knowing the foreign language can effect your practical life as well. You will not be able to work or study there if they use there own language in there workplaces and schools and universities. For instance, working in a cafe requires you to interact with the customers. Without knowing there language, you will not be able to take there orders or provide the best services. Also, in the university and schools, you will not be able to understand the professors unless tehy speak in your language.
In conclusion, staying overseas without learning the native language requires a greater thought as you will get stuck, staying alone in a lonely world. It can effect your social and work life as you will not be able to interact with the people around you and will not be able to understand them.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both social and practical problems associated with living in a foreign country without knowing the native language. A clear position is stated at the beginning ('I extremely agree with the fact as it create hindrances'), and the ideas are supported with relevant everyday examples, such as grocery shopping and working in a cafe. However, the development of these ideas tends to be somewhat repetitive, and the arguments remain fairly basic rather than fully extended. While the task is addressed adequately, pushing the ideas further with broader implications would elevate the response to a higher band. Overall, the response meets the core requirements of the prompt satisfactorily, earning a solid band score for this criterion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs addressing social and practical aspects respectively, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. However, cohesion at the sentence level is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For instance, the transition 'Similarly, not knowing the foreign language can effect your practical life as well' is somewhat simplistic, and referencing is occasionally imprecise. While the progression of ideas is generally clear, the overuse of repetitive connective phrases limits the flow of the text, preventing it from reaching a higher band descriptor.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully using terms such as 'hindrances', 'overseas', 'professors', and 'interaction'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including confusing 'effect' with 'affect', misspelling 'foreign' as 'foregin', and confusing 'there' with 'their'. Additionally, the student tends to repeat basic vocabulary items rather than demonstrating a wider, more flexible lexical resource. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they reflect a Band 6 level where vocabulary control is sufficient for the task but lacks precision and sophistication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and modal structures like 'if you went for a grocery shopping... it will be difficult' and 'working in a cafe requires you to interact'. There are, however, frequent grammatical errors, such as tense inconsistencies ('if you went' paired with 'it will be'), subject-verb agreement issues ('neither they can understand'), and punctuation errors. These errors occur regularly throughout the text, though they rarely impede the overall communication of the writer's meaning, placing this performance firmly in the Band 6 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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