Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-03

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)

Nowadays people are moving to other countries to seek good job opportunities, to study, to travel ,to explore it . But the main problem is language . Some countries like USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada etc have English as their local languages but other countries like China, Japan, Thailand , Korea ,etc have their regional languages . It is difficult to blend in foreign languages.

For the immigrants who had moved to foreign countries, often face crisis socially as well as practically with foreign languages. Many locals can take advantages of those people who do not know local languages and might scam them . For example shopkeeper might increase the rate of that particular goods and then will sell them to that person . Another cause of it is less interaction with other people. Misunderstanding can often lead in these cases. Accessing basic things had proven very difficult.

Socially, we would develop a feeling of insecurity and would feel left out in the group of people. It can also affect in our career. Nowadays , for people applying for permanent residency in other country often get more chances of it if they can speak to other foreign languages. In Canada, if individual can speak French language along with the English then the chances of their permanent residency increases. Many applications and websites are there which teaches different languages for free. It would be easy to learn from them.

Overall, In my opinion living abroad where we have to speak foreign language is difficult and is also followed by social and practical problems. But it can be cope up by us if we lean it from different sources.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the social and practical problems of living in a foreign-language country, as well as offering a partial counter-perspective regarding solutions. A clear position is presented in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is uneven across the essay. For example, the practical problem regarding shopkeepers overcharging immigrants is raised, but it lacks sufficient extension and is stated rather abruptly. Similarly, the section on permanent residency in Canada shifts focus to bilingualism rather than strictly addressing the prompt's core theme of social and practical difficulties. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to ensure that every main idea is fully explained with well-supported examples rather than remaining somewhat under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a discernible progression from general introduction to specific practical and social challenges, and finally to solutions and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct ideas, such as practical issues in the second paragraph and social issues alongside immigration benefits in the third. However, cohesion at times feels mechanical or faulty. The transitions between sentences can be abrupt, such as jumping from the shopkeeper example directly to 'Another cause of it is less interaction with other people,' where the logical link is unclear. Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and cohesive devices are somewhat basic or repetitive. To improve, the writer should employ a wider range of logical connectors and ensure smoother transitions between sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts related to immigration, travel, and language learning. There are clear attempts to use less common items such as 'blend in', 'immigrants', 'insecurity', and 'permanent residency'. However, the lexical control is limited, resulting in noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and phrasing, such as 'take advantages of' instead of 'take advantage of', 'rate of that particular goods' instead of 'price of those particular goods', and 'learn it from different sources'. Spelling and word form inaccuracies are present but generally do not impede communication. To achieve a higher score, the writer must expand their lexical repertoire and use less common vocabulary with greater precision and natural collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over basic sentence structures. The writer attempts complex patterns, such as conditional or relative clauses, but these are often accompanied by errors. Examples include 'For the immigrants who had moved to foreign countries, often face crisis socially as well as practically' (which contains a dangling subject structure) and 'Accessing basic things had proven very difficult' (tense misuse). There are also recurring issues with articles, prepositions, and punctuation, such as spacing around commas and periods, and pluralisation errors like 'foreign languages' when referring to a singular second language. Although some error-free sentences exist and meaning is rarely obscured, the frequency of grammatical slips places the writing firmly in this category. To progress, the writer needs to focus on complex sentence accuracy and correct tense selection.

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