Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-05

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)

Speaking a foreign language while living in a country may cause serious social problems, as well as practical problems. Moreover, I agree with this situation as it can lead to both social and practical problems, specially for the people who have limited language skills.

One bigger challange came across in this situation as ''Social problem'' is when we make coversation the local ones. When we cannot express our things or feelings to the other person then it may become very difficult to live in that country, we do not get confident from interacting with the individuals this may results in avoiding the conversation and social activities. Therefore, an individual can feel isolated and may find it difficult to make friends or develop strong relations with the locals. For example : If someone is moiving to Germany for their academics without learning German language, thus the student face major problems throughout there academic year or in future.

Also there are various ''Practical problems'' as well, that the person will face challanges in there like talking with doctors, filling some kind of forms like bank forms or reading things written on the shop holding boards. Such as a person who has a lack proficiency in Germany then if a situations comes where they want to visit a doctor for the health advice at that time he will not going to get what the doctor actually is talking about and get there health in risk.

In conclusion, I agree that living in a country where a foreign language is required can cause serious social problems, as well as practical problems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

First, it must be noted that the response is two words short of the 250-word minimum, with 19 words copied directly from the task prompt excluded from the count. Regarding task fulfillment, the response addresses the prompt partially, as the position is somewhat unclear and repetitive in the introduction and conclusion. The ideas presented are limited and remain under-developed. For example, while the writer mentions social problems such as isolation and difficulty making friends, the explanation remains basic without sufficient extension or deep analysis. Similarly, the practical examples regarding medical visits and administrative forms are generalized rather than fully explored. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to ensure the minimum word count is met without relying on copied prompt phrasing, and develop each main idea with clear, fully elaborated explanations and specific supporting details throughout the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates some organisation with basic paragraphing, but there is no clear overall progression of ideas. While transitional markers such as 'One bigger challange', 'Also', and 'In conclusion' are attempted, cohesive devices are often inadequate or inaccurate, resulting in a somewhat mechanical flow. Paragraphing is used, but the internal structure of the paragraphs lacks smooth transitions between sentences. For instance, the transition from discussing social issues to practical problems feels abrupt. Furthermore, referencing is not always clear, such as the dangling pronoun use in phrases like 'this may results in avoiding'. To achieve a higher band, the writer must improve the logical progression between sentences and paragraphs, employ a wider and more accurate range of cohesive devices naturally, and ensure referencing is precise so that the relationship between ideas is immediately clear to the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical resource used in this response is limited, providing only a minimally adequate range for the task. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'isolated' and 'proficiency', but these attempts are accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form. Examples include misspelling 'challange' and 'moiving', using 'coversation the local ones' instead of conversation with locals, and employing awkward phrasing like 'shop holding boards' instead of signs or billboards. These lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips cause some difficulty for the reader. To reach the next band, the student needs to expand their vocabulary range, pay closer attention to natural collocations and word forms, and eliminate frequent spelling errors to ensure communication is smooth and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response shows a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentence forms. When the writer attempts complex sentences, they are often faulty, featuring frequent errors in verb tenses, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement. Examples of these errors include 'this may results in', 'the student face major problems throughout there academic year', and 'he will not going to get what the doctor actually is talking about and get there health in risk'. These frequent errors frequently cause difficulty and strain for the reader. To advance to a higher band, the student must incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence structures with good control, eliminate basic agreement and tense errors, and use accurate prepositions and articles consistently.

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

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