Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-01

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 4.5)

Language plays a crucial role in everyday life. While, living in a state where you have to speak a non-native language which can lead to serious social challenges caused by language, as well as practical difficulties. I would argue that language barrier can lead to serious problems.

On the one hand, one main reason is that, people are not familiar with other languages. If indivisuals don't know the language of other country, it would be difficult for them to communicate with others and can face dailylife problems. For example, a person who doesn't know english may not survive easily in other state. That's why people may see him as an alien or that person will be a ghost for them.

On the other hand, many people know different languages and they can easily adjust in their neighbouring countries. To elaborate it, individuals can communicate with others and can easily perform their task without having any hurdle. For instance, they may easily get jod

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response sits at this level because it responds to the task only minimally and fails to meet the required word count, stopping at 163 words rather than the minimum of 250 words. The essay attempts to address the prompt regarding whether living in a foreign-language country causes social and practical problems, but the ideas are severely limited and under-developed. For example, the mention that a person without English skills 'may not survive easily' and will be seen as 'an alien' or 'a ghost' touches upon social issues, but it lacks sufficient elaboration and clear extension. Furthermore, the position is not always clear throughout the response, as the introduction's split phrasing creates some confusion before a brief stance is stated. To move up, the writer must ensure the full length requirement is met and fully develop arguments with well-supported examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is some basic organization with an introductory sentence and some paragraphing, but there is no clear overall progression. The essay uses some basic cohesive devices, such as 'On the one hand' and 'For example', but referencing and linking are sometimes faulty or repetitive. For instance, the transition into the second body paragraph ('On the other hand, many people know different languages...') lacks a smooth logical bridge from the previous paragraph's focus on isolation. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph breaks off abruptly mid-sentence, disrupting the flow of the text. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to ensure information and ideas are arranged logically and supported by a more effective and accurate range of cohesive devices to guide the reader clearly through a fully developed argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, but the range is quite limited and repetitive, featuring basic terms such as 'crucial role', 'everyday life', and 'difficulties'. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations that cause some difficulty or unnatural phrasing for the reader, such as 'other state' instead of 'another country', 'dailylife problems', and 'get jod' at the very end of the unfinished response. Spelling errors also appear, such as 'indivisuals'. While the writer attempts some common vocabulary related to the topic, the control is basic and lacks precision. To improve, the writer must expand their lexical range, incorporate less common vocabulary with appropriate style and collocation, and ensure correct word forms and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and basic complex forms that are often faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that cause difficulty for the reader. For instance, the opening sentence fragment 'While, living in a state where you have to speak a non-native language which can lead to serious social challenges...' misuses subordinate structures without an independent clause. Other errors include article omissions ('doesn't know english'), tense and agreement slips, and punctuation issues. Complex structures are attempted, but they frequently contain errors. To progress to a higher band, the writer must produce a wider variety of complex structures with greater control, aiming for frequent error-free sentences and improved management of punctuation and clauses.

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

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