Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-17

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)

Learning then speaking a foreign language as an adult, while dealing with many other responsibilities is never considered a simple task for many individuals. I agree with this statement as it leads to a lot of social and practical problems in one's daily life.

According to a lot of pupils, whe they commuicate in a foreign language with the locals of that country, they find it really hard to understand and make their point clear to them. Furthermore, those individuals also fail to potray their humouruos thoughts as mostly, it doesn't make sense when translated into the foreign language. As a result immgirants feel lonely and homesick as they find it really hard to connect with the native speakers, they are often ignored by them due to this reason.

Whereas in workspaces, the companies that have a high ratio of locals hired compared to immigrants also lead to making them feel left out and they require extra focus to understand the discussions of meetings and their tasks. Therefore, the non-natives also struggle with growth opportunities in their career due to the language barrier.

For instance for the role of a sales person a non-native is hired, they'll find it really hard to persuade and negotiate with their potential customers causing them to perform poorly, despite of their selling skills all beacuse of the commuication-dense role.

In conclusion, living in a foreign country and communicating in their native language is cosidered a very stressful task by may people who have experienced it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by agreeing with the statement that living and speaking a foreign language can cause social and practical problems. A position is presented and maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are extended with some supporting points, such as difficulties with humour, social isolation, and career progression in workspaces. However, the development tends to be somewhat general, and examples like the sales person scenario are brief and lack full elaboration. While all parts of the prompt are addressed, the depth of explanation keeps the task achievement at a Band 6.0 level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct ideas, moving from social issues in the second paragraph to workplace problems in the third and fourth paragraphs. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Furthermore', 'As a result', and 'In conclusion', though referencing and transitions can occasionally feel mechanical. For example, the link between the sales person example and the broader argument relies on repetitive structures. Overall, the organizational structure is clear enough to meet the Band 6 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate main ideas about language barriers and social isolation. There are several spelling errors (e.g., 'whe', 'commuicate', 'potray', 'humouruos', 'immgirants', 'cosidered', 'may') and typographical issues that distract from the reading experience. While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'persuade', 'negotiate', and 'career progression', inaccuracies in word choice and spelling prevent the response from reaching a higher band. The lexical range is minimally sufficient for Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over structure. However, frequent grammatical and punctuation errors occur throughout the essay. For example, clauses are sometimes awkwardly joined, as seen in 'Whereas in workspaces, the companies that have a high ratio of locals hired compared to immigrants also lead to making them feel left out'. Additionally, minor punctuation and preposition errors are common (e.g., 'despite of', 'all beacuse of'). These errors do not completely impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to place the performance at a Band 5.5.

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