Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

There is an ongoing debate about whether if we live in a foreign country we have to speak the language of the specific country and it will cause social as well as practical problems. I totally agree with this statement because living in a foreign country can sometimes be very hard.

The main reason for this is that if we live in a foreign country we have to speak its language and most of the time it is very difficult to speak a foreign language. Firstly, if we plan to move abroad we should learn the language of that country. For instance, if some people want to go to Malaysia they should firstly learn the language to survive in that country. After this, they still have to face serious social problems. Furthermore, they cannot easily communicate with Malaysian people and some people can also face racism in a foreign country. For example, my brother moved to Saudi Arabia and he had toothache but he was unable to tell the dentist the actual problem because he was not proficient in Arabic. Some people also faces cultural differences in a foreign country.

Another significant reason is that a person also has to face a lot of practical problems. If students want to get higher education, he will face many hurdles due to the language. A person will face problems when he wants to get employed because a company will always give priority to locals rather than foreign employees.

To conclude, I completely believe that living in a foreign country can cause serious social as well as practical problems because we have to speak a foreign language.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout, agreeing with the given statement. Relevant ideas are introduced, such as the social challenges of communication barriers and the practical hurdles regarding employment and education, like the example of the brother in Saudi Arabia facing a dental emergency without speaking Arabic. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others; for instance, the practical problems section remains somewhat generalized and lacks the depth of the social discussion. To reach a higher band, all main ideas would need equal extension and thorough support without relying on repetitive reasoning.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion, making the writer's stance evident from the beginning. Paragraphing is utilized to separate social and practical problems, which helps organize the content logically. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or repetitive, relying heavily on basic transitional phrases like 'Firstly,' 'Furthermore,' and 'Another significant reason is that.' Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as the abrupt shift in pronouns when moving between general statements and specific examples. To progress further, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure smoother transitions between sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'proficient,' 'hurdles,' and 'cultural differences.' However, there are notable word-choice errors and awkward collocations that reflect a limited stylistic range, such as 'faces cultural differences' (where the subject agreement is incorrect) and repetitive use of phrases like 'foreign country.' While communication is not severely impeded, these inaccuracies restrict the score. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate more precise lexical choices, demonstrate better control over word forms and collocations, and minimize repetition of basic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt to handle subordinate clauses through structures like 'if we live in a foreign country' and 'because living in a foreign country can sometimes be very hard.' There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as subject-verb agreement issues in 'If students want to get higher education, he will face,' where the plural subject does not match the singular pronoun, and an initial redundant clause in 'whether if we live.' Nevertheless, these errors rarely impede communication. To move up to the next band, the writer must produce a higher frequency of error-free sentences and demonstrate greater mastery when constructing complex grammatical patterns.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.