Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-18

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)

In a foreign country where one has to communicate in a differennt language that is not their mother tonngue, most of the individuals find it really difficult. I agree with the statement that speakinng a foreign language can cause social and practical problems but they can be improved with time and consistent effort.

Expatriats who've moved to differennt nations have mentioned mostly in the beginning they find it really hard to socialise with the natives of that country, as when carrying out humourous conversations, it is really hard to connect for both locals and immigrants, as humour is the sole foundation of a mere connection with any being. Furthermore in one's daily life, simple tasks such as doing groceries, transportationn, visiting a doctor for checkup, goverment paperwork, and communicatinng with the locals, all these tasks get more exhuasting when trying to speak in a foreign language. Furthermore there are comunnities for immigrants that provide emotional support and goverment-led initiatives such as language courses that strenthen the laguage skills. By consistent effort by both locals and immigrants they eventually work on their connection and understand and communicate with each other in a much bettter way.

As in professional life, expatriats face serious issues in their workplace because of the foreign language that effects their performance irregardless of their skills as managerial positions require stronng communication skills and understanding that limits further growth, as immigrants stay stuck in their entry or mid-level job, limiting their professional growth. These issues raise serious concerns as immigrants face mental health issues and low confindence in their professional life that creates unease.

In conclusion, foreign language can create social interactions harder and can cause stagnant growth in professional life, but with consistency and effort this issue can be solved.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both social and practical problems associated with speaking a foreign language, and presents a clear position agreeing with the prompt, though with the nuance that these problems can be overcome. Ideas are generally well supported, such as when the writer notes how 'doing groceries, transportation, visiting a doctor for checkup, goverment paperwork' become exhausting. However, some arguments, such as the mention of immigrant communities and government-led language courses in the second paragraph, are slightly underdeveloped and blur the line between the problems and the solutions. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, earning a band score of 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay has a clear overall arrangement and follows a logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs addressing social and professional/practical issues, concluding appropriately. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct ideas, though the second body paragraph is quite dense and combines multiple points. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Furthermore' and 'In conclusion', though they are at times repetitive or slightly mechanical. Referencing is generally clear, with phrases like 'These issues' helping to link ideas across sentences. While cohesive control shows some limitations, the organization remains coherent throughout, justifying a band score of 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'expatriates', 'stagnant growth', and 'managerial positions'. However, there are numerous spelling errors throughout the text, including 'differennt', 'tonngue', 'speakinng', 'humourous', 'exhuasting', 'goverment', 'communicatinng', 'comunnities', 'strenthen', 'laguage', 'bettle', 'irregardless', 'stronng', 'confindence', and 'interacions'. These spelling mistakes and occasional word-choice inaccuracies (e.g., using 'effects' instead of 'affects', 'irregardless' instead of 'regardless') detract from the quality of the writing, though they rarely impede overall communication. This places the lexical performance firmly at band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting longer structures with subordinate clauses like 'as when carrying out humourous conversations, it is really hard to connect'. However, there are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors, such as run-on sentences ('Furthermore in one's daily life... all these tasks get more exhuasting...'), comma splices, and minor structural awkwardness ('foreign language can create social interactions harder'). Despite these errors, the meaning is generally clear and communication is not severely impeded. The control of grammar aligns with the descriptors for band 5.5.

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

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